SASKATOON — Sarah McIvor is paying it forward after surviving the same type of cancer that took the life of the 22-year-old athlete and cancer research advocate Terry Fox. Her cancer journey made her decide to become a nurse and help patients get the same care she received.
McIvor said she started as a pediatric nurse before transitioning to the cancer centre as an oncology nurse to give back. She had been involved in the oncology department for 16 out of her 20-year nursing career.
“I don't regret that decision at all. It's a tough job. It's challenging but beautiful, and there's something special about understanding that for people. I just wanted to help,” said McIvor, who survived osteosarcoma, the same cancer that caused the amputation of Fox’s right leg.
She added that Fox's struggles during his diagnosis, treatment, and recovery and his goal of completing the cross-country Marathon of Hope in 1980 continue to inspire people not only in Canada but worldwide.
“There are a lot of lessons still to be learned in what Terry set out to do. When you strip down everything, you look at this young man whose life just turned upside down. He faced many fast-paced decisions about his health,” said McIvor, the local Terry Fox Run organizer.
“Amid all that, he’s sitting there dreaming and thinking where he immediately went into this mode of like, ‘I don't want other people to have to experience this, or if they do have to, I want to try somehow to make it better for them.’”
That had been the universal theme of the Terry Fox Run, to help cancer patients and their families deal with the disease and at the same time raise money to continue funding for research to find the cure.
“You meet other cancer patients, and as they go through their experiences, there is a large part in people’s hearts to help them get through this. Even if it is just smiling at them in the patient waiting room,” said McIvor.
“Terry had a big dream, and he took a considerable risk. He didn’t know where it would go and land, but boy, did it land. And I think it's just a universal theme that, you know, you want to try and leave the world to be a little bit of a better place.”
She added that the Terry Fox Foundation still adheres to what Fox wanted when he decided to organize the Marathon of Hope, where people could donate as much as possible for cancer research.
“He didn’t do it for sponsorship or corporate donations. If people want to give, they have to give freely. They [Terry Fox Foundation] have stayed true to that through this experience for many years. That's incredible to me because it's hard to do that today,” said McIvor.
“That's what I always want people to know, especially on the local front in Saskatoon, like, I want them to know it doesn't have to be anything significant, you know, it's the race, the run itself.”
She said they still need volunteers for the Sept. 15 running event at the Delta Besborough Garden behind the hotel on Spadina Crescent East. She also invites individuals, families, and friends who want to form teams, and especially students, to join.
“The route will be at Meewasin trail with a 5K option. You would run the course twice if you want to do 10K. There will also be a 1K, 2K, 3K, and 4K marker, so families with little kids have those options,” said McIvor.
For more information, check their social media handles SaskatoonTFR on Facebook and saskatoontfr on Instagram.
