CancerCare leader walks to give back

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This article was published 12/05/2017 (3098 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Every year CancerCare Manitoba Foundation runs Challenge for Life — a one-day fundraising/awareness event. Participants commit to raising $500 for CancerCare Manitoba while taking an active role in maintaining their physical health and reducing their personal cancer risks.

The 2017 Challenge for Life will take place on Sat., June 10, when Challenge for Life  2.0 participants can “walk it” for  20 kilometres beginning and ending at Assiniboine Park, or they can “work it” by taking part in a 200-minute workout in the Park featuring aerobics to zumba and everything in between. (Bear in mind that it’s not 200 continuous minutes of exercise. There will be breaks, snacks and a variety of exercises such as yoga, CrossFit and aerobics, to name a few.)

Dr. Helmut Unruh saw the effects of cancer as a thoracic surgeon for 30 years. Most of his patients had lung cancer.

He took his first walk in the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation’s Challenge for Life four years ago, having just joined the medical staff at CancerCare in a leadership role.

“ I knew first-hand how dedicated the staff were and how positive the experience was for the patients,” Dr. Unruh said.

“I wanted to give back  for all the positive life experiences I had with my patients and CancerCare Manitoba. I don’t walk for anyone in particular but the thousands of patients I had the privilege of serving are never very far from my consciousness.”

He also had a bit of a personal mission.

“In past years I was disappointed by the apparent lack of participation by the doctors at CancerCare,” he said.

“There were always a few of us but I thought we should be doing better. The other staff were, in my opinion, far better represented. I decided to lend my efforts to recruiting more doctors for the Challenge.

“So far there are six of us with two doctors joining our team (on June 10). I have also heard from other doctors that have joined other teams, often a group that they work with. To me it doesn’t matter whose team they join, as long as they join a team.”

Knowing that all the money raised for the Challenge for Life resonates with Dr. Unruh.

“The support is substantial and CancerCare Manitoba would be a very different place without the monies raised by the Foundation,” he says.

“So often the return to Manitoba from some of the high-profile national campaigns is so small. It is very important to me that the sole purpose of monies raised by the Foundation is to support CancerCare Manitoba patient services and research.”

And the day itself?

“I enjoy meeting up with friends and family that are on the walk. My son David is on the National Leasing team and he and I usually do the walk together,” Dr. Unruh said.

“This is an event that my whole family is into supporting by either participating or donating to.”

For more information on Challenge for Life 2.0 call 204-927-LIFE (5433) or visit challengeforlife.ca