A Letter from Charlotte

My name is Charlotte Ruttle and I am a cancer survivor. I joined Terry’s Team, a volunteer group that shares personal stories to help raise awareness for cancer research and to encourage people to participate in the Terry Fox Run. My personal experience with cancer began several years ago.

In the summer of 1991 when I was 16 years old, I travelled to Vancouver to visit my brother and his family. Before I left I had been having a lot of what I thought were 'growing pains' in my right knee and was having difficulty walking for long periods. In Vancouver, I slept most afternoons because my head hurt so much I could not keep my eyes open. My sister-in-law became very concerned so she arranged to have me see her doctor.

During the appointment, I described my symptoms and showed the doctor that when I twisted my right leg to one side, a bump appeared. I was sent for x-rays and soon after was ordered to return to Toronto and check into The Hospital for Sick Children because there was a chance I might have cancer.

At the hospital, I learned that I had osteogenic sarcoma, the very same bone cancer that Terry Fox had. The major difference between our stories is that I was able to benefit from the funding that had gone into cancer research initiatives. In the past, the only surgical treatment available to remove my type of tumour was amputation. Over the past decade, advances in research have enabled surgeons to develop surgeries that are no longer this radical. My femur (thighbone) was replaced with a donor bone and held together with steel plates and screws. By the time my eight-month chemotherapy treatment ended, I was ready to return to school in September 1992.

When I first heard the diagnosis I thought I was going to die as there was no cure for cancer. Well, there isn’t - yet. But in the 22 years since Terry’s Marathon of Hope, the survival rates for certain types of cancer have risen from 10% to 80%. Treatments have become more effective and tolerable for patients. All these advances are due to people who support research and truly believe their efforts make a difference. I am truly grateful to Terry Fox and everyone who has contributed even one penny to research, because if it were not for them, I might not be here today.

But I am here today. I am a university graduate, a social worker and, most importantly, I am a cancer survivor who knows first hand how important cancer research was, and is, until a cure is found. I hope you can find the energy and the motivation to get involved with the Terry Fox Foundation because I am here to prove to you that your time and money will save lives.

Charlotte Ruttle