FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2011 file photo, actor Patrick Dempsey, center, prepares to start the Survivor Walk with his mother, Amanda, right, and Amgen Breakaway from Cancer Award winner Laura Davis in Lewiston, Maine, on the first day of the Dempsey Challenge. The sixth Dempsey Challenge gets underway Saturday, Sept. 27, 2014 without the woman who provided the inspiration for the fundraiser and a cancer center. Amanda Dempsey passed away in March. (AP Photo/Sun Journal, Amber Waterman) MAGS OUT; TV OUT; MANDATORY CREDIT
September 29, 2014 - 4:55 AM
LEWISTON, Maine - Nearly 3,900 people helped raise more than $1.1 million for cancer care and support at the 6th annual Dempsey Challenge, organized by actor Patrick Dempsey in honour of his mother.
Aimee Arsenault, manager of special events and development at the Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, announced the fundraising total at Sunday's closing ceremonies and added that it's still growing.
Dempsey, the "Grey's Anatomy" actor and Maine native, was one of the roughly 1,000 people who took part in Sunday's cycling events. Others raised money by walking or running.
The actor founded the Dempsey Challenge following the experience of his 77-year-old mother's battles with ovarian cancer. She passed away in March.
News from © The Associated Press, 2014