Terry Fox’s dad diagnosed with lung cancer
Terry Fox devoted his life to raising money for cancer research and now his father has been diagnosed with the disease.
The family announced Tuesday on the Terry Fox Foundation website that 80-year-old Rolland Fox, known as Rolly, was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.
“He remains in very good spirits, confirmed by the dated and overused humour we are forced to endure,” the family says in a statement.
“Though initially troubled by the news, Rolly is committed to approaching the challenge now before him by adhering to the traits — optimism and a never give up attitude — that he likely passed on to his son Terry.”
Rolly Fox started smoking at age 19, consistent with the times, and quit on a dare from his brother in 1986, the family says. He completed a 16-kilometre run the next year.
The patriarch has been a “behind-thescenes believer” of his son’s mission for 36 years and after the 2011 death of his wife and Terry Fox’s mother Betty Fox, became more active, visiting Terry Fox Runs across Canada, the family says.