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Family fundraises after rare cancer claims father

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Wingham, Ont. -

The Insley family lost their leader in 2017 when Murray Insley passed away at the age of 62 due to esophageal cancer.

“He was diagnosed at the end of June, and he was gone by October, so it was crazy quick, unfortunately,” says Murray’s daughter, Nicole.

Murray was one of only 2,400 Canadians to be diagnosed with esophageal cancer that year. He was also one of the 2,300 who died from it.

“It came on very quickly. There were very few, if any warning signs, and it’s very aggressive, which is another very difficult component of it,” says Murray’s son, Chad.

In search of answers, the Insley family went looking for information and support groups dealing with esophageal cancer.

“At the time, you immediately go to Google, and you think, 'I want answers, I want to be able to help others and to participate,' and we came up with zero. And that’s what sparked us. We thought, we’re going to start this on our own,” says Nicole.

So, for the fourth consecutive year, the Insleys are running Murray’s Miles. A fundraiser and awareness walk in honour of their departed dad.

“Unfortunately it becomes a bit of a networking event. In terms of people that have had this hardship in their lives. And you hear a lot of similar stories,” says Chad.

“Our dad had no warning, no symptoms. He was diagnosed, we blinked, and he was gone. So, our main goal is that other people don’t have to go through that. There’s nothing worse than losing a parent that quick, so our goal it to help others, to get the answers they want, sooner,” says Nicole.

The Murray’s Miles fundraising walk is Saturday, Oct. 2 in Exeter.

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