As many as 15,000 residents in Ho Chi Minh City and surrounding localities participated in the 17th Terry Fox Run on November 24 to raise fund for cancer research in the city.

The event, which took place in Crescent Area, the Phu My Hung Urban Area of District 7, was organised by the Canadian Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, Canada’s international school system and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam.

The funding raised at the event will be used to set up a molecular biology laboratory in the upgraded area of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, which is expected to serve cancer treatment demand of patients in the city and other southern localities, as well as promote research in the field.

Wayne Robson, Canadian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City said the event is a meaningful movement towards a non-cancer world.

The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held in various regions around the world 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 a leg to osteosarcoma.

Last year’s event drew the participation of 14,600 people and raised 1.7 billion VND (almost 80,000 USD). To date, more than 600 million USD has been collected over the world to serve cancer research.-VNA