Terry Fox inducted into Canadian Medical Hall of Fame

Terry Fox, who entered the pantheon of Canadian heroes long ago , now has another honour - a place in the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

Fox, who died of cancer in 1981 at age 22, was among seven inductees to the Toronto-based hall.

"Terry would be proud of the acknowledgment, but he'd think all the people working to combat cancer would deserve the award more than him," his father Rolly Fox of Port Coquitlam, B.C., who accepted the honour on his late son's behalf, told the National Post.

Almost every Canadian knows the Terry Fox story. He was diagnosed with a form of bone cancer in 1977 while still a teenager, which forced the amputation of his right leg above the knee.

According to the Terry Fox Foundation, he was so overcome by the suffering of fellow cancer patients at the hospital that he resolved to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research.

Fox's Marathon of Hope began in St. John's, Nfld., in April 1980. He averaged close to 42 kilometres a day in his grueling run but after reaching Thunder Bay, Ont., he was forced to quit when his cancer returned, this time in his lungs. He died June 28, 1981.

But his dream lived on, nurtured by his family. Fox's run got little attention when it started but by the time he was forced to quit, it had raised more than $24 million.

After his death, the Fox family set up the foundation and has raised more than half a billion dollars so far for cancer research.

"Today the Terry Fox Foundation continues Terry's work, supporting cure-oriented, biomedical cancer research worldwide," says the hall of fame citation.

"In 2007, the Foundation created the Terry Fox Research Institute to overcome barriers of discipline and geography in conducting cancer research. And millions of people around the world carry on Terry's Marathon of Hope by taking part in The Terry Fox Run."

Fox's mother Betty, the face of the effort, died last June.

"Betty used to say she was doing what she was doing, in terms of charity work, because Terry wasn't here to do it and now that responsibility lies with me," Rolly Fox told the Post.

The Medical Hall of Fame was founded in 1994 to encourage careers in medicine and recognize researchers, doctors and scientists, as well as others who've made a difference in Canadian health care, the Post said.

"We as Canadians tend not to strut our stuff, but the people elected into our Hall of Fame have benefited millions of people all over the world," said executive director Janet Tufts.