TORONTO – The Terry Fox Foundation received a huge boost Thursday, with the largest single donation in the organization’s history: $25 million from the Larry and Judy Tanenbaum Family Foundation.
The commitment unlocks matching funds provided by the federal government, creating $50 million in funding for cancer research.
“The determination to actually go out there and run across Canada … not for his own ego, but for the fact of wanting to raise money to help conquer cancer … it gave us that motivation,” said Larry Tanenbaum, former chairman of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE). “And although he didn’t make it across Canada…it gave us that motivation to say, ‘let’s finish it.’”
Larry Tanenbaum said the funding will support a national network of researchers across the country.
“Sixty-some-odd institutions across Canada, 1,300 researchers across Canada, all working for the same thing: sharing information on an open science basis,” he said.
When Terry Fox began his run in 1980, his goal was to raise $1 from every Canadian, or about $24 million at the time. His brother, Fred Fox, said Terry’s mission was simple: to fund more research into the disease that took his leg, and later, his life.
“When Terry was diagnosed in 1977, almost 50 years ago, as an 18-year-old, he did some research of his own and found out that not a lot of money was being directed towards cancer research,” said Fred Fox. “Today, survival rates are so much better in a whole bunch of different cancers and that’s why bringing researchers together … people collaborating and sharing ideas. What they’re doing is amazing.”
Dan Murphy is an example of the advances being made in cancer care. In 2023, the Toronto father was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease. Today, he lives a full life with the disease thanks to precision oncology, a personalized approach to care made possible by major strides in cancer research.
“Precision oncology is an advanced cancer care that’s treating patients at a biological and molecular level,” Murphy said. “Because my doctor was able to have my tumor sequenced in those early days, she was able to give me a treatment plan tailored for me. And because I responded well to that treatment plan, here I am today.”
Murphy has been receiving treatment at the Princess Margaret Cancer Care Centre in Toronto, one of the largest in the world. He hopes the funding announced today will ensure people across Canada have access to state-of-the-art treatment regardless of where they live.
“It shouldn’t matter that I’m living in Toronto,” he said. “Everybody should be able to have access to the treatments and the technology and the innovations in science that I’m benefiting from.”
Doctors say this donation will ensure new research, knowledge and treatment options are shared across the country.
“When it comes to research, the data we make available in B.C. ought to be available to the people in Montreal and the people in the Atlantic,” said Dr. Marco Marra, the Terry Fox Leader in Cancer Genome Science. “It needs to be available for everyone. You need to mine that data as aggressively as possible in search of solutions. That’s how we’re going to get the job done.”
The Terry Fox Foundation also unveiled a new campaign slogan and video Thursday called “Powered by Terry,” the second chapter in the “Finish It” campaign.
The launch included a new handcrafted claymation film that begins when Terry’s marathon ended, and features the many people across the country who have carried his legacy ever since.
“I think every Canadian either has had cancer, knows a loved one with cancer, has lost loved ones from cancer, or is scared to death that they will fall into one of those three categories,” said Nadine Caron, a surgical oncologist.
“I think it’s just something that unfortunately just binds us as human beings in Canada. And I think we need to really jump into that space and finish it.”
