Promoting the 2008 Terry Fox Run at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

On the morning of October 27, 2008, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, in collaboration with the Vietnam-Canada Friendship Association and the Canadian Embassy, ​​organized a talk for students to raise awareness about the 9th Terry Fox Run in Hanoi.

[img class="caption" src="images/stories/2008/10/27/terryfoxtoronto19800712.jpg" border="0" alt="Terry Fox on July 12, 1980 in Toronto. Photo: Jeremy Gilbert" title="Terry Fox on July 12, 1980 in Toronto. Photo: Jeremy Gilbert" width="167" height="360" align="right" ]

The Terry Fox Run, also known as the "Run of Hope," commemorates Terry Fox, a young Canadian man diagnosed with bone cancer who decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

In 1980, at the age of 18, despite having only one leg after cancer surgery, Terry Fox ran an average of 42 km per day for 143 days, covering a total distance of 5,373 km. Halfway through his planned journey, Terry was forced to stop his "Run of Hope" because his cancer had spread to his lungs. He passed away shortly afterward at the age of 22. Since then, the Terry Fox Run, aimed at supporting cancer research, has been held annually in over 10,000 locations worldwide, attracting millions of participants and becoming the world's largest one-day fundraising event. Over $400 million has been raised from this run.

The Terry Fox Run in Vietnam was first held in 1997 in Ho Chi Minh City. Since then, 60,000 people have participated in runs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, raising over 3.5 billion VND. The 2007 Terry Fox Run in Hanoi, with 7,000 participants and 436 million VND raised, continued to be the fourth largest run in the world outside of Canada, placing Vietnam third on the list of countries with the most participants and tenth on the list of countries that raised the most money.

The Terry Fox Run in Hanoi in 2008 will be held at Thien Quang Lake on November 23rd. The proceeds will be used to support a research project conducted by the Oncology Hospital.

During the talk, students watched a documentary about Terry Fox's courageous struggle against illness and his extraordinary efforts to fulfill his dream of a better life for cancer patients worldwide. Representatives from the Hanoi running organizers introduced the rules of the race and encouraged students to participate. Following this, doctors from the Hanoi Oncology Hospital gave a talk on cancer – its causes, prevention, and treatment.