TORONTO, Ont. – Thousands of men and women alike will be going the distance Saturday and Sunday, as the “Weekend to End Women’s Cancers” takes place both in Toronto and across the country.
The Shoppers Drug Mart Weekend to End Women’s Cancers is a weekend designed not only to raise money for the Princess Margaret Hospital and cancer research, but also to remember those who have lost their lives to cancer and give hope to all those women currently battling the disease.
The weekend includes two walks, and participants have the option to join the two-day 60 kilometre trek or the one day 32 kilometre course.
Since its inception in 2003 more than $100 million has been raised by participants. Proceeds go toward advances in cancer care and research, and participants can choose to specifically designate their money for research on either breast or gynecologic cancer.
Many participants have been training or this weekend for weeks or months, and many have either had their own battle with cancer or know someone who has.
Christine Lasky is walking with the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, and this is her sixth year participating.
Her mother was treated at the hospital for cancer.
“We would say you talk a lot, you walk a lot, and you cry a lot,” Lasky said. “It’s a very moving experience I think it brings out the best part of humanity.”
On average more than 100 women in Canada die from breast cancer every week, and approximately 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their life.