The little ones at Willowbrook Montessori Daycare knew they were running for Terry Fox on Friday morning.
They knew he had to have his leg “cut off.”
They knew that he lost his leg because he “got sick.”
But for program coordinator Oana Nistor, Terry’s cancer fight was so much more.
She helped organize the Willoughby daycare’s fifth annual Terry Fox Run to bring awareness about the disease to the children — all between the ages of three and five — and to raise funds for cancer research through the Terry Fox Foundation.
Cancer has impacted many, including Nistor: “We all know what cancer is and what it does.”
Nistor is a survivor, after being diagnosed with a peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST), a form of cancer of the connective tissue surrounding nerves. Nistor has a scar along her her jawline as a constant reminder of what she endured.
“I’m one of the lucky ones who survived,” said Nistor.
“We started this because personally I had an encounter with cancer,” Nistor noted. “And we also had a dad at our school who had the same kind of cancer Terry Fox had.”
Terry Fox Runs were held in Langley City, Walnut Grove, and Aldergrove on Sept. 17 with all proceeds going to the foundation.
To date, over $750 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research in Terry’s name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.
