BRIGHT Run: Small idea, big difference

Annual Hamilton cancer research run is local in every sense of the word

I am looking forward to the 11th annual BRIGHT Run coming up Sept. 8 at the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. I’m proud to be involved in this local, family-friendly 1 km or 5 km walk or run.

Since the first BRIGHT Run in 2008, we have raised more than $3.2 million for local breast cancer research. Not bad for an event that was started by health-care providers well versed in medical procedures, but lacking experience in event planning.

Those medical professionals — oncologists, surgeons, nurses, and others — launched the BRIGHT Run because their patients wanted a local event that raised money for local breast cancer research.

There is enormous competition for research funds across the country. It can be difficult to attain funding for smaller studies, which often form the groundwork for larger projects. Locally, the BRIGHT Run provides those small project grants, generally in the range of $100,000 or less.

The BRIGHT Run has supported 16 research projects; the most recent funding was granted this past spring. Those projects have examined a range of issues such as: uptake in predictive genetic testing in family members of patients with hereditary breast cancer; the impact of various ways to deliver radiation therapy; the impact of Vitamin D and melatonin on the growth of cancer cells; the unique needs of young women with breast cancer; and more.

The BRIGHT Run is local in every sense of the word. The event is organized by local people, who raise local money for local research.

Our definition of local, though, is a broad one. The expert team at the Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC) serves the large area defined by our Local Health Integration Network (LHIN): Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand, Brant, Burlington and most of Norfolk. That area takes in 1.5 to 1.7 million people. The JCC sees more than 7,000 new patients each year.

As a result, the BRIGHT Run pulls in participants from an equally broad area. We have participants from Mount Hope, Burlington and Caledonia. From Waterdown, Jerseyville and Smithville. From Jarvis, Cayuga and Millgrove. And from all over Hamilton, Ancaster, Dundas and Stoney Creek.

All these people work hard to raise money for the BRIGHT Run — and the local research it supports — because they view the Juravinski Cancer Centre as their local cancer centre. For many, the JCC is the cancer centre that saved their lives.

In recognition of our broad definition of local, the BRIGHT Run developed a new volunteer role this year. Three breast cancer survivors — all treated at the JCC — became community connectors, spreading the BRIGHT Run message in the areas in which they live.

Caledonia teacher Kristen Winkworth, for example, worked to raise awareness in Haldimand County. Joanne Stacey, a social worker and author, spread the word in Burlington, her home community. And Mount Hope resident Lesley DeSousa promoted the BRIGHT Run in her area.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women. An estimated one in eight Canadian women will have breast cancer during her lifetime and one in 31 will die from it. Breast cancer accounts for about 25 per cent of all newly diagnosed cancers in women. A small number of men also get breast cancer.

The numbers tell me that breast cancer research is critical to our future. And local research is critical to our community because it has a direct impact on all of us.

Think about the women in your family, in your circle of friends, at your workplace. Chances are, you know someone who has experience with breast cancer — as a patient, a caregiver, a parent, a sibling or a friend. If you haven’t met that person yet, you likely will at some point.

You can make a difference for our community’s breast cancer patients, present and future, by contributing to local research. Register for the BRIGHT Run and raise money. Make a donation. It’s easy as visiting www.brightrun.ca .

Nancy McMillan is an 11-year breast cancer survivor and the BRIGHT Run’s event chair. A retired banking professional, she was named a Hamilton Woman of Distinction in 2014 for her volunteer work with the BRIGHT Run. For more information, visit www.brightrun.ca.