Run for the Cure to be emotional this year, says Mississauga mom who survived breast cancer

When the streets of Toronto turn pink and white as thousands turn out to fundraise for breast cancer research next month, it'll be especially poignant for one Mississauga mother. 

On Oct. 1, Maria Igreja will be among those participating in the Canadian Cancer Society CIBC Run for the Cure — Canada's largest single-day fundraiser for breast cancer research.

Igreja has taken part in the event since 2018, but this year is special. Igreja is now a breast cancer survivor.

"This year is a little bit more personal in that I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year," Igreja told CBC Toronto this week. "It's going to be, I think, a more emotional event for me this year."

Igreja said she is grateful to be alive.

Last year on Oct. 2, Igreja volunteered at the Run for the Cure in Toronto, helping to set up what is called the hope tent — a tent for survivors and women and men going through breast cancer treatment.

Less three weeks later, on Oct. 19, Igreja went for a routine mammogram herself, only to find out she had a tumour. Subsequent biopsy results confirmed it was stage 1B breast cancer. 

Treatment included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, ending in June.

Igreja said she had a lumpectomy, in which cancerous tissue in a breast is removed, instead of a mastectomy, in which a breast is removed. She lost her hair, but it is now growing back. 

"Finally, June 7 of this year, I finally rang the bell!"

Igreja is far from alone. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, one in eight women will have breast cancer in their lifetime. Still, the organization says, the breast cancer death rate in women has been nearly cut in half since its peak in 1986 due to improvements in prevention, detection and treatment.

It says 89 per cent of women and 76 per cent of men with breast cancer in Canada survive at least five years past their diagnosis. 

Tanya Henry, vice-president of signature programs for the society, said millions of dollars raised at events such as the Run for the Cure make a difference.

"The Run for the Cure is incredibly important to the breast cancer community. Every year over the last five years, thanks to the run, we've been able to invest over $60 million in the best breast cancer research across Canada," Henry said.