Terry Fox

Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist.

Terry Fox was born on July 28, 1958, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to Rolland and Betty Fox.

Rolland was a switchman for the Canadian National Railway.

Fox spent his childhood in the Transcona suburb of Winnipeg, where he attended Wayoata Elementary School.

Fox had an elder brother, Fred, a younger brother, Darrell, and a younger sister, Judith.

Fox's maternal grandmother is Métis and Fox's younger brother Darrell has official Métis status.

His family moved to Surrey, British Columbia in 1966, then settled in Port Coquitlam in 1968.

He had doting parents, and his father recalled that Fox was extremely competitive.

Fox attempted to join his school's basketball team, though struggled because of his height.

His coach suggested that Fox try cross-country running, which Fox did in order to impress his coach.

Fox continued to improve on his basketball skills, and in grade 12 he won his high school's athlete of the year award.

Fox was unsure whether he wanted to go to university, but Fox's mother convinced him to enrol at Simon Fraser University.

He studied kinesiology with the intention of becoming a physical education teacher.

He was also a member of the junior varsity basketball team.

On November 12, 1976, Fox was driving to the family home in Port Coquitlam when he was distracted by nearby bridge construction and crashed into the back of a pickup truck.

Fox injured his right knee in the crash and felt pain in December, but chose to ignore it until the end of basketball season.

His right leg was amputated in 1977 after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, though he continued to run using an artificial leg.

He also played wheelchair basketball in Vancouver, winning three national championships.

By March 1977, the pain had intensified and he went to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of cancer that often starts near the knees.

Fox believed his car accident weakened his knee and left it vulnerable to the disease, though his doctors argued there was no connection.

He was told that his leg had to be amputated, he would require chemotherapy treatment, and that recent medical advances meant he had a 50-percent chance of survival.

Fox learned that two years before, the figure would have been only 15 percent; the improvement in survival rates impressed on him the value of cancer research.

With the help of an artificial leg, Fox was walking three weeks after the amputation.

Doctors were impressed with Fox's positive outlook, stating it contributed to his rapid recovery.

Fox endured sixteen months of chemotherapy and found the time he spent in the British Columbia Cancer Control Agency facility difficult as he watched fellow cancer patients suffer and die from the disease.

In the summer of 1977, Rick Hansen, working with the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, invited Fox to try out for his wheelchair basketball team.

Less than two months after learning how to play the sport, Fox was named a member of the team for the national championship in Edmonton.

In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

Although the spread of his cancer eventually forced him to end his quest after 143 days and 5373 km, and ultimately cost him his life, his efforts resulted in a lasting, worldwide legacy.

In 1980, he began the Marathon of Hope, a cross-country run to raise money for cancer research.

He hoped to raise one dollar from each of Canada's 24 million people.

He began with little fanfare from St John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, in April and ran the equivalent of a full marathon every day.

Fox had become a national star by the time he reached Ontario; he made numerous public appearances with businessmen, athletes, and politicians in his efforts to raise money.

He was forced to end his run outside Thunder Bay when the cancer spread to his lungs.

His hopes of overcoming the disease and completing his run ended when he died nine months later.

Fox was the youngest person named a Companion of the Order of Canada and won the 1980 Lou Marsh Award as the nation's top sportsman.

He was named Canada's Newsmaker of the Year in both 1980 and 1981 by The Canadian Press.

Considered a national hero, he has had many buildings, statues, roads, and parks named in his honour across the country.

The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$850 million has been raised in his name as of September 2022.

Fox was a distance runner and basketball player for his Port Coquitlam high school, now named after him, and Simon Fraser University.