'Luckily found it early': Woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer runs for cure
Two weeks ago, Leah Warner got the scariest news of her life.
“I’m just trying to process it,” says Warner of a stage one, grade one breast cancer diagnosis.
She had a large team of supporters Sunday at the CIBC Run for the Cure at Victoria Park in London, Ont.
After her recent diagnosis, her husband Jay and friends started fundraising and came up with $15,000 in just a couple of weeks.
“I noticed something and went to my doctor,” says Warner.
“He didn’t think it was anything but he pushed and it turned out to be something. I found it early so people definitely need to trust your instincts.”
Returning to an in-person event for the first time in three years, more than 800 people packed the park for either a one km walk, or a five km run.
Over 800 participants took part in the CIBC Run for the Cure in downtown London, Ont. Local Organizers say they raised more than $275,000 this year. (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London) “With the stats of one-in-four women getting breast cancer, it's really hard to say that you haven't been touched with breast cancer, whether it's your family member, someone you know, your co-worker or yourself,” says Meghann Geddis, the local run director.
“That's why it's important for us to fundraise and come together and support the people in our lives that have been touched with breast cancer.”
Geddis says the local total raised from Sunday’s run will surpass $275,000. Through the Canadian Cancer Society the funds will help with research, prevention, education and supports for those living with breast cancer.
When it comes to fundraising for this run, there aren’t many people more valuable than Katherine Butson.
“I cannot tell you what it feels like to be told you have cancer,” says Butson. “It literally turns your world upside down.”
Diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer nine years ago, she’s raised close to $225,000 since starting a team.
“When I was first diagnosed, a mother from my son's school approached me and said ‘let's do team Katherine Butson and run for the cure,’” says Butson who credits her 10-year-old son for getting her through her diagnosis.
“At that time I didn't know what the Run for the Cure was in 2013. We raised $32,000 that year, and next year we hope to be at $250,000 total.”
In 2013, Butson says there was no research done on her type of breast cancer.
“I can say now that after raising so many funds that there has now been a research project started,” says Butson.
Prior to the run, survivors were called to the front of the stage, where they held a moment of silence to reflect on why everyone in attendance was running and walking.
Breast Cancer survivors pause for a moment of silence prior to the CIBC Run for the Cure at Victoria Park in London, Ont. (Brent Lale/CTV London)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.