Commemorative Address
22nd Annual Terry Fox Run
Roch K.Longueepee
DeWolfe Park
Bedford, Nova Scotia
September 15,2002
(As Delivered)

Honorable Mayor, honored guests, and fellow participants.

I come here today because of my deep interest in and affection for this cause. I share in the dream of finding a cure, because I know how it feels to lose family and friends to cancer. Recently, I had the honor of writing a eulogy for someone very special in my life, who lost her father nine months ago to cancer. Although I felt there was little I could offer to comfort her loss, I know I can do something here today. I believe in dreams as Terry Fox did. That is why I am honored to stand before you on my twentieth year of these runs.

Twenty two years ago, a young amputee set out on one leg determined to eradicate a disease which has plagued millions of people all over the world. After 3,339 miles, he had run six provinces, two-thirds of the way home. On September 1, 1980,Terrance Stanley Fox ran his last mile. Cancer had spread to his lungs. His personal battle with cancer had claimed his leg and finally, his life. On June 29, 1981, as flags were flown half-mast around the country, the remains of Terry Fox made their way to their final resting place. A nation stood united in hope. Twenty-two years later, his valor endures to define the war against cancer. This legacy has inspired runs for thousands of causes. It has inspired disabled persons to live beyond the limitations of their disabilities everywhere.

Above it all, Terry Fox engendered a social conscience. What he leaves us was best summed up in his letter to the Canadian Cancer Society. “As I went through the 16 months of the physically and emotionally draining ordeal of chemotherapy, I was rudely awakened by the faces with the brave smiles, and the ones who had given up smiling. There were feelings of hopeful denial, and the feelings of despair. My quest would not be a selfish one. I could not leave knowing these faces and feelings would still exist, even though I would be set free from mine. Somewhere the hurting must stop...and I was determined to take myself to the limit for this cause. "

Today continues the journey of The Marathon of Hope. It is also a day of reflection. We come here today not only to pay tribute to this exceptional Canadian, but also to remember our friends and loved ones, living and dead, stricken by the scourge of Cancer. Cancer accounts for more than one quarter of all deaths. As we mourn lost lives, we also measure how our response can affect that human tragedy.

For the families of our sick and dying joining us today, I know at times you must feel very alone with your pain and suffering. But I want to say that many of us are determined to continue Terry’s journey with you and I hope you will often take heart from the knowledge that you are joined with others in every land, as we continue to race for a cure. We are united in a common purpose; we are determined to build a future without cancer.

Thanks to ongoing support in these events, I am happy to report cancer mortality rates are on the decline. Let us pledge therefore, that these runs will not become the forgotten passages of history. For although we have achieved greatly, much is yet to be done.

We must call upon the common qualities of humanity, a shared determination to wipe away the indignity and suffering this disease brings to its victims. "If Athens shall appear great to you," said Pericles, two thousand years ago, "consider then that her glories were purchased by valiant men, and by men who learned their duty." Such is the greatness of all societies, and it is the key to progress in eradicating cancer. This is what Terry Fox leaves with us.

With the eyes of the world upon us today, let us move forward toward increasing hope, toward dignity for all, and toward a community ardent and resolved to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield. We pray what Terry Fox was for us, and what he wished for others will someday come to pass for all the world to see.

I thank you.