
JANUARY 2025
A SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM JUDITH FOX ON THE 45TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARATHON OF HOPE
At the beginning of each year, it’s always a surprise to see how far we are from Terry’s Marathon of Hope. In 2025, it has been 45 years since Terry ran his most memorable Run.
Each year (and new cancer diagnosis) is a reminder of what drove Terry to dream so boldly about a world without cancer.

I’d like you to imagine Terry running down a lonely stretch of highway. Sweat on his face along with determination, commitment and a hope that we will make his dream our own.
Imagine Terry standing behind a podium, in a town much like your own. Imagine him speaking, emotional and thanking the crowd for committing to his cause.
Now imagine him before you and thanking YOU! Terry believed in miracles, so please, believe that our gratitude for you is absolutely from Terry. Imagine him taking your hand, looking right in your eyes and saying thank you, from the bottom of his heart.
In 1980, Terry said, “I’ve said to people before that I’m going to do my very best to make it, I’m not going to give up. But I might not make it… if I don’t, the Marathon of Hope better continue.” With pride and great appreciation on behalf of my family, the Terry Fox Foundation and Terry: we THANK YOU!
Thank you for continuing what Terry started. Thank you for the lives your Legacy Gift will impact. Terry’s Run was one of strength, courage and commitment. These past 45 years we see those same traits in each of you. We cherish your dedication to Terry and value your continued involvement.
We’ve come a long way…
Judith
GOLD RUSH: A BIG STEP FORWARD FOR PRECISION ONGOLOGY
Every cancer patient is unique and so is their cancer. That’s why a one-size-fits-all approach to cancer treatment does not work.
This is the genesis of precision oncology, a new and promising approach to cancer care that tailors your treatment to you and the unique characteristics of your specific cancer. The goal is simple and compassionate: to improve outcomes, reduce side effects, and give families the precious gift of more time.
To make precision oncology a reality for more Canadians, researchers and oncologists need a high-quality dataset that matches genomic data with treatment information and clinical outcomes. This way, researchers can see how cancers with specific characteristics respond to specific treatments and which treatments might be most effective for each patient.

The scientists at the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network (MOHCCN) are creating this dataset right now. The MOHCCN Gold Cohort seeks to be Canada’s most complete cancer case resource. It will include the clinical and genomic data from 15,000 patients with different cancers, from diverse ethnic backgrounds, who are receiving treatment in centres across the country. This will allow researchers to use new technologies – including artificial intelligence – to determine why some patients respond to certain treatments while others don’t. The goal is to match every new cancer patient with a treatment plan based on their personal genomic and clinical realities.
To be successful, the data must be truly representative of the Canadian population. So the MOHCCN is establishing partnerships with institutions across the country, with an emphasis on those serving rural and remote areas. This will allow us to reach people who have historically been under-represented in cancer research initiatives.
Ultimately, we envision a future in which everyone in Canada can benefit from precision medicine, regardless of where they live.
Here’s where we are today:
- Full genomic profiles in the MOHCCN Gold Cohort increased from 800 to 4,287 – and it’s still growing!
- Cases with full clinical data rose from 0 to 1,095
- Institutional membership is now over 40 members

MOHCCN IN PRACTICE: DISCOVERING A NOVEL BIOMARKER TO PREDICT SUCCESS OF IMMUNOTHERAPY
Program: TFRI Research Grants Program – Terry Fox Translational Research
Program Project: Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Profiling for Individualized Care (EPPIC)
A key obstacle in cancer treatment is finding the most effective way to treat a patient’s cancer while reducing harm to the rest of the body. Immunotherapies, which harness the immune system to fight cancer, have shown promise. But identifying which cancers will respond remains challenging.
With funding from a Terry Fox Translational Research Program, a team from Montreal discovered a way to predict patient response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
Led by Dr. George Zogopoulos, the team looked at what’s called a chemokine-score, or c-Score, and found that patients with tumours displaying a higher c-Score show increased signs of T cell inflammation and activation (both are necessary for ICI treatments to be effective).
The team plans to use data from the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network to advance this research for the benefit of patients.
“As accessibility to tumour profiling platforms expands through the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network, novel biomarkers such as the c-Score will be more readily incorporated into immunotherapy clinical trials. This will help further evaluate these novel biomarkers and accelerate their transition into routine clinical practice.” ~ Dr. Zogopoul
“With more complete biomarker tests to identify cancer patients for immunotherapy, we will be able to improve even more lives using ICIs to treat their cancers.” ~ Joan Miguel Romero
Learn more about the project, as written by Joan Miguel Romero, MD-PhD candidate at McGill University: Cancer research – determining who responds to immunotherapy
september 2024
YOU’RE NEVER TOO YOUNG TO CREATE A LEGACY: REMEMBERING YUSUF HIRJI
Yusuf was 16 when he was diagnosed with the same cancer as Terry Fox.
“In life, things do happen. Sometimes they’re good, sometimes they’re bad. You can make the best of it and that’s all that you can do. That’s in your control … What can I do that I’ll always remember?” – Yusuf Hirji
Yusuf was a typical kid in Grade 11. His life revolved around family, friends, school, and especially sports. He was elite soccer player with the skills and ambition to play professionally. When his leg started to hurt, he thought it was a pulled hamstring. It was osteosarcoma.
From the beginning, Yusuf channelled Terry’s optimism and courage. He became the 2014 High School Run Ambassador for the Terry Fox Foundation. He visited schools and brought Terry’s message of hope to thousands of students.
The only limit is the one you set for yourself.
Yusuf’s mantra. He believed it so strongly, he had it tattooed on his arm.
Together with his family and his care team, he did everything possible to get better. But his cancer didn’t respond as hoped and Yusuf died at the tender age of 19.
When they learned he only had about six months of quality time left, Yusuf’s mom Shyrin said, “What are we going to do?” Yusuf’s answer? Everything!
He went skydiving. He visited Barcelona, Munich (for Octoberfest!), and England to see his beloved Manchester United beat archrivals Liverpool. He got right up to the stage at a music festival where concert-goers lifted him up to crowd surf – in his wheelchair!
Today, Yusuf’s light and his legacy live on in an annual youth soccer tournament in his hometown and in his family’s continued support of the Terry Fox Foundation.
To keep touching people in a way that’s so meaningful, especially for someone who is so young? It’s remarkable. It’s a meaningful legacy.
Shyrin Hirji, Yusuf’s mom

NEW HEIGHTS: HOW AN OSTEOSARCOMA DIAGNOSIS CHANGED SARAH MCIVOR’S LIFE
In 1977, when Terry was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, the prognosis was bleak with a survival rate of less than 5% even with aggressive treatment. In some ways, Terry was fortunate: he lived with his cancer for more than 4 years.
Which brings us to Sarah.
Like Terry, Sarah was a freshman in university when she started having pain in her lower back and knee. And like Terry, she assumed it was a sports injury. It wasn’t. It was osteosarcoma: the same cancer, in the same part of her leg, as Terry.
Sarah’s treatment was complex and involved multiple surgeries, but she didn’t lose her leg and she has been in remission for more than 20 years!
I am so fortunate to be a 20+ year survivor of metastatic osteosarcoma.
I was only 19 when I was diagnosed. I was sick. I was sad. And I was scared. But I knew Terry’s story and it gave me a real source of courage that I could draw from. I felt like Terry was with me, sitting on my shoulder.
Since then, I’ve tried to be a beacon of hope for other people. I became an oncology nurse. And every year, I volunteer as a Community Run organizer in my hometown of Saskatoon.
There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel grateful or understand the true – TRUE – concept of cancer research and fighting for other people.
Last year, Sarah decided to channel her inner Terry Fox and put her own determination and courage to the test. She signed up for the Mount Terry Fox Trek in support of cancer research.
Despite having a completely rebuilt femur and knee, she made it to the summit!
INVESTING IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF CANCER RESEARCH: BETTER DETECTION METHODS FOR OSTEOSARCOMA
Cancer research works, but not with every cancer or every tumour. At least, not yet.
Thanks to incredible advances in cancer research – brought to life by amazing supporters like you – osteosarcoma can have a survival rate as high as 80% depending on how early it’s diagnosed.
Your legacy gift – every gift – to the Terry Fox Foundation supports the top 5% of cancer researchers in this country through the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI)! TFRI invests your donations in the very best researchers across Canada through its highly-competitive grants and awards programs.
Since July is sarcoma awareness month, we’d like you to meet Dr. Joanna Przybyl, a Terry Fox New Investigator award winner.
Dr. Przybyl is leading a project to develop a “liquid biopsy” test for osteosarcoma.
If you’re a patient, it would be as quick and easy as a blood test. Even if your tumour is in a hard-to-reach part of the body, your blood carries its genetic signature. Measuring those markers can help determine the effectiveness of the treatment you receive. Fewer markers would mean your treatment is working. More markers could mean it’s time to try a different approach.
If you’re a researcher, the test could identify biomarkers unique to that specific cancer. Those markers could then help classify tumours into subtypes and even predict potential outcomes from different treatments.
If you’re an oncologist, the test could give you a low impact, accurate way to match your patient to the best treatment for their tumour type. This could also spare patients from the harsh side-effects of therapies that are unlikely to be effective.
Your support makes it possible for TFRI to fund the Terry Fox New Investigator Awards for promising new researchers exploring bold ideas like liquid biopsies.
