Shortness of breath, lingering cough, tiredness, night sweats, persistent back pain and weight loss were some of the symptoms that put a Prince George family on alert that something just wasn’t right with Dad last summer.
The fateful doctor’s visit on Aug. 22, 2023 set in motion a whirlwind of emergency care that saw the appointment at 9 a.m., blood tests at 11 a.m., and at 3 p.m. the diagnosis over the phone at work. From there Ken Whitney went straight to the emergency department at UHNBC.
He had just been diagnosed with leukemia, cancer of the blood cells.
There wasn't even time to go home and try to explain it to the kids.
That difficult task was left to mom, Pamela Parker, as Whitney started treatment.
“I went home to talk to our two young kids (Holden, then 8 now 9, and Haddie, then 12 now 13), arranged for my parents to be with the kids, and headed to the hospital to meet Ken,” Parker said. “The next week was a blur of medications, IVs, an air ambulance trip to the VGH hematology unit, countless blood tests, a bone marrow biopsy, a blood transfusion and ultimately a treatment plan.”
When Whitney got to the hospital on that fateful day, he was immediately admitted, he recalled.
“They kept me for three days until I got air transported to Vancouver General Hospital (VGH),” Whitney said. “There is no hematology here so any problem with your blood you have to go VGH. Those first few days with me being here in the hospital trying to explain to the kids what was happening with me not really knowing what was happening was the worst of it.”
Fortunately, thanks to years of research and trials, this type of leukemia has a known mechanism and very effective treatment, Parker explained.
“Now, a year later, Ken's leukemia is controlled by taking a daily medication that inhibits the production of cancerous blood cells and after such a roller coaster, our life is somehow very normal,” Parker said. “It is not lost on us how much we owe to the decades of research and funding that is required to make our outcome a reality.”
Soon after Whitney’s diagnosis the family decided to form a team for the Terry Fox Run. The Ken Project saw 17 people join the 2023 team to support Ken. It was so meaningful to the family because September is also blood cancer awareness month.
The Terry Fox Run has always been very special in Prince George as Terry Fox made the monumental decision to run across Canada to raise awareness and funds for cancer research when he came here to run the Prince George to Boston Marathon in 1979. That race is now called the Labour Day Classic.
More than $900 million has gone to support world-class cancer research through the Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI). TFRI invests donations in scientists in laboratories, clinics, and hospitals around the country.
“Over the past year the Ken Project has raised more than $5,000 for various causes including the Terry Fox Foundation, the BC Cancer Foundation, The Canadian Cancer Society, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada and the BC Cancer Centre of the North in Prince George,” Parker said. “We couldn't be more grateful for the care Ken received from our family doctors, the team at UHNBC, the team at VGH and the support of the BC Cancer Centre of the North. The Terry Fox Run will now always be one of our priorities to give back.”
Whitney wasn’t able to attend the Terry Fox Run last year as he was in treatment, but he will be at the event this time.
“This year I will be more at the forefront and we will be asking people to join the group,” Whitney said.
And it’s not just about him and his cancer journey.
“We’ve had multiple close friends of ours lose people to cancer this past year,” Whitney said. “So there’s a lot of reasons to get out.”
Looking back, Whitney can’t help but take a moment to reflect.
“I think when you’re in it and you’re coming out of it you really see the benefit of all the funding and attention the Terry Fox Run brings because there’s so much locally that I still access at the BC Cancer Centre month-to-month for testing and drugs. You very quickly see how that funding has allowed progressions in treatments, especially in something like Leukemia because it’s only been in the last 15 to 20 years that you were able to have a medication intervention instead of having bone marrow transplants and stuff. The Terry Fox Run is a really great way to support the community.”
The 44th Terry Fox Run takes place at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park on Sunday, Sept. 15. Registration is set for 9 a.m. and the run goes from 10 a.m. to noon. Run, walk, or wheel, the route starts at the bandshell, leading through the park and along part of the route Fox ran in 1979 in the Prince George to Boston Marathon.
For more information and to register for the local event visit run.terryfox.ca/55619.
