Amber and Jamie at Kin Coulee where the Run for the Cure starts

By Lisa Parent

Cancer survivor shares importance of supporting upcoming CIBC Run for the Cure

Sep 29, 2023 | 3:14 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The annual CIBC Run for the Cure is back in Medicine Hat on Sunday. The event raises millions of dollars for the Canadian Cancer Society each year, funding cancer research and support programs. In Medicine Hat, the run focuses on coming together as a community and supporting survivors and those fighting cancer.

On average, one in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. Medicine Hat local Amber Kornelson was one of them.

“In 2017 I was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer. It was really tough,” says Kornelson. “There’s never a good time to have cancer, so it always comes out of the blue. It’s always something difficult to hear.”

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Kornelson was in college when she got the diagnosis, forcing her to withdraw from school for treatment. She went through surgeries, chemo and radiation.

“I mean, it’s terrifying. Sometimes the hardest thing is that you don’t have any control over what your circumstances are. So you’re forced to just take things one day at a time and you just focus on what’s the next step,” Kornelson explains.

After Kornelson finished treatment, she became a survivor spokesperson in 2018 for the CIBC Run for the Cure. Last year she started volunteering for them too.

“Even from my diagnosis date, I knew that raising awareness was really important and people need to know that they’re not alone in fighting cancer and living with it,” says Kornelson.

Many other volunteers on the run committee have been affected by cancer in some way. Jamie Scott lost his father to cancer in 2011 and was looking for a way to get involved and contribute to fighting the disease.

“Being at those events you see the bonds, the community, the pain and the strength that comes from things like this,” Scott says. “And I think for those who haven’t been to the run before, who are coming on Sunday, that’s really going to take them aback, what they’re going to see, the sense of community and bonding.”

Last year, the CIBC run for the Cure raised about 13 million dollars. The Medicine Hat event will be held in Kin Coulee Park, near the bandshell.

“It’s welcome to anybody who wants to run or walk. Kids are welcome and bring your pets as well,” says Scott.

“The goal is just bringing our community together to make sure that regardless of if you’ve gone through cancer or if you know someone who has, it’s just creating those relationships, raising, awareness and of course money to help support those who are going through it,” adds Kornelson.

Registrations can be made on the CIBC Run for the Cure website, or in person on the day of the event. Only credit or debit will be accepted to pay the registration fee, because the event is cashless.