Prognosis grim, but dogged cancer fighter, fundraiser not done just yet

During a checkup with his oncologist on May 8, Doug Harvey received expected but gut-wrenching news. After almost 12 years living with prostate cancer, Harvey was being admitted into the palliative care program.

As he drove home with his wife, Jan Shute, Harvey recalled thinking to himself, “I’ve got to do something, I’ve got to leave a lasting legacy, I have to do something that can make a difference in other people’s lives.”

He then told his partner of 28 years that he wanted to raise $1 million through CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life walk fundraiser.

Just nine days after he began fundraising, he had nearly enough to meet his goal. As of Monday, Harvey’s fundraising page has surpassed $1.3 million, building on years of work aimed at improving cancer care for Manitobans.

The Winnipeg business mogul and philanthropist, president and CEO of DLH Group, has been deeply involved with CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, serving on its board of directors for more than 15 years — including five as chair.

Harvey, 72, was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Aug. 24, 2014, just one month before beginning his tenure as board chair. He stepped down from the role in 2020.

“I’ve been very open through my journey, because I think that’s one thing that I can bring,” he told the Free Press from his cottage on Lake of the Woods. “I have never hidden behind this; it isn’t something to be ashamed of.

“My favourite line that CancerCare has is, ‘More tomorrows together,’ so to me that’s the key. We’re not going to cure cancer in my lifetime, but if I can have more time with my beautiful wife, my kids, my grandkids and my friends, that’s a big win for me, and it’s a big win for everybody that we fight through this thing together.”

This year, Harvey’s family, including Shute, his three children and six grandchildren, will participate in the Challenge for Life event in his honour.

“I have never hidden behind this; it isn’t something to be ashamed of.”

“I’m lucky, I was born with the happy gene, and the kids have it, so it’s very rewarding to see how they’ve adopted this,” Harvey said. “They’ll do anything for you, as you hope your family would.”

Harvey has been involved with Challenge for Life since its inception in 2008 and has seen first-hand the impact its fundraising efforts have had.

“I see the unbelievable amount of quality work that’s done by the doctors, the physicians, the clinicians, the nurses, the guys that run the MRIs,” he said. “There’s just a tremendous amount of energy and work that goes into helping a patient on a cancer journey.

“I ended up in a clinical trial that didn’t even exist when I started (treatment), and gave me an extra couple of years, so that’s what it does for people. “

He says his campaign’s momentum has come from relentless asking and organizing, encouraging people to double their donations from last year, when he raised more than $700,000.

But Harvey said even the smallest donations matter, pointing to contributions from his grandchildren ranging from $13 to $100.

“It’s not only the amount — it’s the fact that you took your hard-earned money and made a donation for the betterment of your fellow Winnipeggers and Manitobans,” he said.

Patti Smith, CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s president and CEO, says the organization’s mandate is to support initiatives that fall outside the scope of core provincial funding, including research and clinical trials.

She said that work is especially important, given the number of people affected each year.

“Just to put it in context, more than 7,000 people in our province a year hear the words for the first time, ‘You have cancer,’” Smith said. “So that’s a lot of people and their families, their loved ones, all impacted by cancer, and who will all have a journey ahead of them.”

“We’re not going to cure cancer in my lifetime, but if I can have more time with my beautiful wife, my kids, my grandkids and my friends, that’s a big win for me.”

Smith said she has known Harvey for more than 20 years.

“There is only one Doug Harvey,” Smith said. “There has been and will only ever be one. He is exceptional and special, a champion, and he’s inspired so many other community leaders to follow him.”

Harvey described his journey as a yin-and-yang situation.

“You have this whole, ‘I can’t believe how s—tty this is,’ to holy mackerel, crying my eyes out because of what somebody told me, how I affected their life,” he said.

“(My family and I) are very happy people, and on the other hand, we’re very sad people. But you follow the hand you’re dealt, right? And I’m trying to make a difference.”

The Challenge for Life fundraiser is Saturday.

Donations can be made through Harvey’s page here.

zoe.pierce@freepress.mb.ca