Patricia Fortier is a cancer survivor.

The Whitehorse resident had a double mastectomy in two surgeries, though the doctors told her she could undergo a lumpectomy, rather than remove the whole breast.

"I just wanted to make sure that they got every bit of cancer that they could, and what I said in the doctor's office is that I just simply want to live,” Fortier said.

She was still concerned following the first surgery because there was a heightened possibility of cancer in the other breast.

"I felt that I was still holding my breath, and that was why I was determined to go in and have the second mastectomy,” she said.

Fortier spoke during the Terry Fox Run, starting at the SS Klondike Sunday afternoon and looping around Millennium Trail, where some 330 Yukoners came out to show their support by raising a whopping $9,228.

The support Fortier received from family, friends and colleagues changed her experience with cancer, she noted.

"Looking at people there reminded me of that, and I felt very embraced,” Fortier said. "Although this is about a very bad time in my life, it was as positive as it possibly could have been.”

Back in 1980, the beginning of The Marathon of Hope, Fox was an unknown runner.

But as he ran 26 miles each day, the country began to take note.

Elaine West, who teaches at Takhini Elementary School, remembers watching Fox run near Toronto 30 years ago.

"I stood on the street and watched and waved and collected money,” said West, who was a teacher then.

"I think people were tentative. However, when you heard him speak, and realized how sincere he was, and the goal and aspirations that he had, it really impacted everybody.

"Cancer wasn't out in the open as much in those days, and to see somebody who had a leg amputated and then to know that cancer spreads; the hope he still had that he would complete the run, was just something new for all of us.”

West, who moved to Whitehorse to teach 14 years ago, said the city makes a great effort to promote the run.

The schools too.

"We keep it going, we've got the books about him, we read his story, we watch the movies, just to keep it alive, and for kids that have had cancer to know that there is hope,” West said.

"It's quite phenomenal. He is a Canadian hero. He inspired others. It's just a privilege to carry on, and hopefully all the money that is raised will go toward research that will help a lot of people.”

In 2009, Canadians donated more than $20 million to cancer research through participating in Terry Fox events. Nearly 220 people from Whitehorse contributed $6,000 during last year's Terry Fox Run.

Art Webster has participated in roughly 20 of the 30 Terry Fox Runs, he ventured following this year's event.

"It's so important to find a cure for cancer, in all its different forms, and so many people are committed to it, you'd like to support it,” Webster said.

"He was such an inspiration to so many people, in not just this country, but I understand in 45 or 46 countries around the world. That says volumes about his personality, his character, his cause.”

Fellow participant Tedd Tucker agreed.

"I'm a big fan of Terry Fox, for what he did as an athlete and as a fund-raiser, so it means a lot – it's part of a Canadian legacy,” Tucker said.

"I was a young kid when it started, but looking back on it, as an athlete, I really appreciate it. That accomplishment was enough, but what he did with one leg was amazing, so I just want to make sure it's something that lives on, that's what he always wanted.”