Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 – June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. The annual Terry Fox Run, first held in 1981, has grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is the world's largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research; over C$1 billion has been raised in his name through the Terry Fox Research Institute as of February 2026. Fox was a distance runner and basketball player for Port Coquitlam Senior Secondary School, later named after him, and Simon Fraser University. 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. In 1980, he began the Marathon of Hope to raise money for cancer research. He hoped to raise one dollar from each of Canada's 24 million people at the time. He began with little fanfare from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, in April that year, and ran the equivalent of a full marathon every day. He had become a national star by the time he reached Ontario, and 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 after the cancer spread to his lungs. He died nine months later on June 28, 1981. 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.
Early life and cancer Terrance Stanley 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 was Métis, and Fox's younger brother Darrell became a member of the Métis Nation of British Columbia. Fox's family moved to Surrey in British Columbia in 1966, then settled in Port Coquitlam in 1968. He had doting parents, and his father recalled that he was extremely competitive. He attempted to join his school's basketball team, but struggled because of his height. His coach suggested that he try cross-country running, which he 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. He was unsure whether he wanted to go to university, but his 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. He injured his right knee in the crash and felt pain in December, but did not seek treatment until the end of basketball season. 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 the crash weakened his knee and left it vulnerable to the disease, though his doctors argued that 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 per cent chance of survival. He learned that two years before, the figure would have been only 15 per cent; 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 his positive outlook, saying it contributed to his rapid recovery. He underwent 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, he was named a member of the team for the national championship in Edmonton, Alberta. He won three national titles with the team, and was named an all-star by the North American Wheelchair Basketball Association in 1980.
Marathon of Hope
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