Vernon man to run 31 consecutive marathons for cancer care

Oliver Stankiewicz has been running for a long time, but he’s about to put his body to the ultimate test.

“I’m going to be running a marathon every single day consecutively for the month of May,” the Vernon man told Global News.

That’s 42 kilometres every day, and more than 1,300 km over the course of the month.

It’s in an effort to honour his late mother, Laura Stankiewicz, and raise money to enhance cancer care at Vernon Jubilee Hospital.

“We lost my mother to cancer back in 2020,” Stankiewicz said.  “It was a complete shock to hear that she was going through cancer diagnosis, especially one that was fairly rapid and it all sort of unfolded very quickly from diagnosis to her passing away.”

Stankiewicz along with his fiancee Marie have already $150,000 for the hospital since his mom’s passing at the age of 59.

“This was an opportunity for my partner Marie and myself to be able to give back to that hospital that saw my mom through kind of the last stages of her life,” Stankiewicz said.

This year though instead of doing one long run, he’ll be doing 31 consecutive marathons for specific equipment that will benefit patients battling breast cancer.

“The entire project for the equipment is $150,000. I’d like to get as close to that as possible,” he said.

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The money raised will go directly to what’s called the seed project at Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH).

It’s a technology that utilizes magnetic seeds to precisely locate lumps in breast tissue”

“It improves the accuracy of what the general surgeons are doing,” said Kristen Megyesi, VJH’s director of clinical operations for surgical services.

The equipment has been on trial at the hospital but the goal is to have it in place permanently to replace what’s called ultrasound-guided wire technology — which can be uncomfortable and cumbersome for patients.

“The previous technology that the wire was placed first thing in the morning,” said Megyesi.

“We would have to coordinate that the medical imaging department would be available and able to place that and then the surgeon would perform the procedure later on that day leaving you know a gap in the day where the patient has this wire that’s hanging out of their breast tissue.

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“There was room for that wire to be bumped, adjusted.”

Stankiewicz is working with the VJH Foundation to see the project through and while he knows there will be hard moments during those daily marathons, he expressed that it pales in comparison to what his mom and other cancer patients go through.

“I just remember the people that are suffering every day from from cancer and the treatment that involves and that’s what sort of motivates me to keep pushing through,” Stankiewicz said.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what my body can do and, obviously, showing the community that I’m dedicated to this and seeing it through is important to me.”

You can go to the Movement Project website for more information or to donate to the cause.

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