This is quite a busy time in the battle against cancer and in particular breast cancer. Last Friday evening in an historic telethon, “Stand Up to Cancer“, viewers stood up to cancer and pushed total donations for research to battle the disease past the $100 million mark. That dollar figure reflects contributions from viewers of the telethon as well as money raised since late May

It is encouraging to see so many getting involved but hardly surprising given how many families are affected by this tragic disease. Here in Vancouver, the Weekend to End Breast Cancer 60km walk saw 1,600 participants raised over $4.1 million in its fifth annual walk. That represents a huge number of participants putting in a great deal of effort for the cause. My wife, Vivianne, and her best friend, Victoria Armstrong, who had flown in from Toronto to take part in the walk, were two of the walkers. Their team, Breast Friends Forever, raised over 20,000 dollars.

Many others put in most remarkable efforts. For example, Shelly and Carl Courneya walked in Vancouver and thus participated in 6 of the 7 Weekend To End Breast Cancer Events this year. (The Toronto walk took place on the same weekend as the Vancouver walk). They have a cookbook, the Tickled Pink Cookbook, with which they hope to raise 100,000 dollars for the cause and they are well on their way.

The runners are not to be outdone and this coming weekend, September 14th sees commemorative Terry Fox runs across Canada and around the world. Then on Sunday, October 5, 2008, the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure takes place, which is one of the largest single-day volunteer-led fundraising events.

In other words, however you wish to be active in this cause, there is a place for you to make a move.

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