Newmarket resident Debbie Fletcher-Queen remembers feeling petrified as she watched her son go through cancer treatments following his diagnosis when he was 19 months old.
Dawson, who had a subcategory of stage 2 neuroblastoma, would topple over and lose his balance.
“You don’t expect that for your child,” said Fletcher-Queen. “You think he has an inner ear infection and that is why he is losing his balance. Within a week he couldn't sit up anymore."
Dawson underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and blood transfusions for about a year. He was admitted to the Hospital for Sick Children for some time and would return for annual checkups after he went through various treatments.
“It was so rare there wasn’t a lot of data,” said Fletcher-Queen. “We had a superb oncologist from St. Jude’s actually and he started setting up a protocol between the surgery, of course, to get the tumour out, but it was the body’s reaction to the tumour that was creating his imbalance. The chemo to be prophylactic and then the blood transfusions basically acted like a sponge to try to sop up immunoglobulins in his brain, which is what was causing his imbalance.”
Grateful for the care, advancement in medical research, and support they received, Fletcher-Queen is a regular participant in Newmarket's Terry Fox Run.
“It was Terry Fox dollars and research the Terry Fox run does that provided us the best opportunity,” said Fletcher-Queen.
Registration is open for the 44th Marathon of Hope, started by Terry Fox's iconic run across Canada to raise money for cancer research, happening this Sunday, Sept. 15 across the country and in Newmarket.
Participants in the run will start at the Ray Twinney Recreation Complex on Eagle Street at 9 a.m. for a five-kilometre trek. Participants can register online or sign up on the day of the event beginning at 8:30 a.m.
“He was one of the pioneers that started this back in 1980,” said Muriel Lee, a member of the organizing committee for the Newmarket event. “You never heard of anybody doing something quite extraordinary, running across Canada on one leg for cancer research. He really touched a lot of people along the way and it grew.”
Fox was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma in his right leg in 1977 and had his leg amputated six inches above the knee. He was so overcome by the suffering of other cancer patients while in hospital that he decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.
“He was a person who had cancer who was doing it to stop the suffering,” said Lee. “He wasn’t doing it for fame. He was doing it for people, to raise awareness for cancer research.”
His Marathon of Hope took place in 1980 and with fierce determination, he ran an average of 42 kilometres every day for 143 days. He was forced to end his run on Sept. 1, 1980, when the cancer spread to his lungs. By Feb. 1, 1981, his dream of raising $1 for every Canadian was realized. The Terry Fox Marathon of Hope fund totalled $24.17 million. He died in June 1981.
"Anyone you talk to, somebody they know or themselves have been touched by cancer," said Lee. "We're all in this together where we want to hopefully find a cure. We've come a long way since 1982. If this was today, Terry Fox would not have lost his leg because of all the money raised for cancer research because they've come so far in 44 years. Every dollar does count and even though there may not a 100 per cent cure, there is a lot of research going on and things happening that can help people live a longer and healthier life and in Terry Fox's case, not have their leg amputated."
Organizers of the Newmarket event have a goal to raise $71,000. They have raised more than $49,570 to date, about 70 per cent of their goal. A barbecue will take place after the event.
Runners are encouraged to use a bicycle, rollerblades, wheelchairs and bring their dog on a leash.
“His legacy lives on in the survival rates, in the targeted treatments they are able to provide now that they wouldn’t have been able to provide without research and without getting to the level of understanding where they are now," said Fletcher-Queen.
Fletcher-Queen and her family met a young boy at Sick Kids who was not responding the same way Dawson was. She feels fortunate that Dawson is now 24 years old, living healthy and thriving in golf.
“Dawson did very well,” said Fletcher-Queen. “We’re lucky. I don’t know what that was but we got the good cancer. We were lucky.”
While Dawson received a lot of attention, his older brother felt left out. She said Sick Kids has a process in place to watch out for him as it affects the entire family. While the cancer went away, Fletcher-Queen said she felt worried years after it could return.
“You wonder and you worry,” said Fletcher-Queen. “It is cancer and it has a life of its own and (doctors) are getting so much better. This is where the Terry Fox research dollars come into play. They are so much better, they understand the immunology of research on cancer and are able to target. It wouldn’t be possible without the fundraising they do.”
She understands that while advancements have been made, there is work to do. She said cancer is not eradicated but if it wasn’t for the funds raised, research would be steps behind.
Fletcher-Queen works as a data administrator at Southlake Regional Health Care Centre. She said it put Dawson at ease as she had knowledge of the medical sector when he had to go to the hospital.
“He had his childhood issues and we had to go to emerg because he cracked his head and he would get stitches and I’m calm,” said Fletcher-Queen. “We’ve been through the worst.”
Dawson now has a scar on his abdomen that he used to hide. He now proudly shows it off as a survivor of childhood cancer.
