Dozens of people gathered at the Forestry Farm Park and Zoo on Sunday morning for Saskatoon’s Bladder Cancer Awareness Walk.
According to Bladder Cancer Canada, bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in Canada.
“People didn’t talk about it very much because it concerns the bladder. It’s lethal, too. If it gets out of the bladder wall, it spreads everywhere and your chances of survival are reduced,” said Sen. David Tkachuk, who is a bladder cancer survivor himself.
“The important thing is catching it early, and the earlier we catch it the more survivors we’ll have, the less cost to the health-care system so it’s all positive from there,” he added.
Tkachuk has been cancer-free for five years now.
“You need family support and you need the support of your friends so that’s what we have here. We have cancer survivors with their family and their friends and their kids or grandkids so it’s lovely to see,” Tkachuk said of those who came out for the walk.
The goal of the walk is to raise awareness, support patients and their caregivers and fund research around bladder cancer.
Walks were held in 22 communities across Canada over the weekend with the hope of raising $26,000 in Saskatoon and $600,000 nationwide.
The walk raises about 65 per cent of the organization’s funds each year.