Megan Dyck’s family was told to prepare for her final months when she was 14. Her mother stood before hundreds of participants at the Terry Fox Run at Simcoe Park on Sept. 20 and told them that while Megan has been able to celebrate three birthdays since that first diagnosis, their battle is not over.
Amber Dyck said her daughter’s rare clear cell carcinoma has started to progress after immunotherapy held it back for several years. The family is now waiting for research to produce another treatment option.
“Megan’s cancer is slowly growing again, so we continue to pray that research moves quicker than it does and that she will continue to celebrate many birthdays to come,” she said.
After she spoke, runners, walkers and cyclists took off from Simcoe Park along King and Queen streets, raising money for cancer research. The local campaign had raised $77,106 of its $140,300 goal, according to the Terry Fox Foundation’s run page. Last year’s target was $120,000.
Megan was diagnosed at 13. By 14, the cancer had spread to her lungs despite aggressive treatment. Doctors had no known treatment options left, and the family was referred to palliative care.
“We watched Megan deteriorate and were followed by a palliative team who told us to enjoy our final months with her to the best of our ability,” her mother said.
Joan King has organized the local run for almost 20 years. She said the town has raised more than $2 million for cancer research since Mandy Falconer organized the first run here in 1991.
“Sometimes hope is all you have,” she said.
King, a retired teacher, said she continues the run because Terry Fox never got to finish his work. Fox, who was in the middle of his cross-country Marathon of Hope, died of cancer in 1981 before he could complete his journey.
“[Terry] ran out of time, but we have the time to make a difference and to finish it,” she said.
Credit: DAVE VAN DE LAAR
Megan Dyck is by her mother Amber Dyck’s side as she shares the emotional journey her family has been on the past three years, through the ups and downs that began with Megan’s cancer diagnosis.Carol Dyck, a colon cancer survivor, joined other survivors in red shirts for their yearly photo at the town hall clock. Megan usually joins them, but she missed this year’s photo because she was in treatment.
“You have to be positive when it happens,” Carol Dyck said of her own diagnosis. “I wasn’t the first and I certainly wasn’t going to be the last.”
Members of the Niagara College Knights volleyball team joined the run to support their coach, Abbey Gooder, who recently went through cancer treatment. Team members came to raise money in her name.
Megan has since celebrated her 15th, 16th and 17th birthdays. She is expected to graduate from high school this year.
Her mother told participants their fundraising connects directly to the treatment advances that extended Megan’s life.
“The money you have raised is saving and extending lives. It is making a difference,” she said.
Donations to the local campaign can still be made at terryfox.org. The campaign remains about $63,000 short of its goal.
