Tanya Gordon, with daughter Taya at her side in the 2011 Terry Fox Run.
Image Credit: Tanya Gordon
September 13, 2013 - 4:41 PM
VERNON - For a local cancer survivor the symbolic Terry Fox Run this weekend is a source of inspiration.
Tanya Gordon finds the run and the support of family and friends gives her the strength to keep on going.
"I heard last night that a few runs (in other cities) have been cancelled due to a lack of volunteers," Gordon says. "That's just heartbreaking. It takes away your hope."
Gordon was diagnosed three years ago with follicular non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
"Follicular means it's incurable," she says.
Numerous rounds of chemo have left her tired, and unable to do the things she used to do.
"I'm at the point where there's nothing else the doctors can do for me. It's inevitable that it will flare up again."
Faced with such hardships, hope becomes a precious thing.
Gordon will run tomorrow morning alongside her family, probably wearing neon green, her cancer colour.
"It's pink for breast cancer, and neon green for mine," she says, noting her youngest daughter gets excited whenever they spot the colour while out shopping. "I always liked the colour, but not as much as I do now."
This year's Terry Fox Run will be particularly special for Gordon, because her daughter Taya will be singing the national anthem.
Before she was diagnosed, Gordon hadn't participated in the run since highschool.
"You kind of put it to the back of your mind. You don't think it's ever going to happen to you. You don't think you could wake up the next morning and have your life change forever."
The event invites runners, cyclists, strollers, scooters and dogs to join the cause. Last year, $9,000 was raised for cancer research.
The event will be held Saturday at Coldstream Elementary School. Registration is at 8 a.m. and the runs is at 9 a.m.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013