Over 16,000 people in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding areas joined the 18th Terry Fox Run on November 30 to raise funds for cancer patients.

The event, which took place at Phu My Hung new urban area, District 7, was jointly held by the Canadian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City , the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (CanCham) in Vietnam and the municipal Union of Friendship Organisations.

Money raised during the run will be used to finance the city’s projects on cancer research, including the previous ones on molecular pathology and a new project on the research and early detection of oral cancer at the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital .

Canadian Consul General to HCM City Wayne Robson said that Terry Fox Run has become an important event not only in the Canadian community and their friends in Vietnam as it provides a chance for them to show their efforts in the fight against cancer.

Last year’s event drew the participation of 15,500 runners and raised 1.8 billion VND (86,000 USD) for cancer research.

Terry Fox Run is a non-competitive charity event held annually in numerous countries throughout the globe to commemorate Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox, who made a Marathon of Hope run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research in 1980 after losing his leg to osteosarcoma.

To date, more than 650 million USD has been collected over the world for cancer research.-VNA