The Editor,
With the fading summer days of 2014, the annual Terry Fox Run is approaching, this Sunday, Sept. 14.
This event originated in Port Coquitlam and is echoed by many nations throughout the world - because in 1980 the cancer struck Terry Fox, who set out running the Marathon of Hope, raising money for cancer research.
Terry would be pleased that, through his effort, many people worldwide recognized the need for intensive research on this dreadful disease.
But would he be so pleased to know that numerous cancer-causing agents still remain in people's daily lives, in their homes and neighbourhoods? These are the places people should feel safest!
Workplaces and most public places are safer than people's own neighbourhoods because they are free of secondhand smoke; neighbourhoods are not.
Some municipalities have already curbed neighbourhood pollution by discouraging pesticides and banned the practice of outdoor debris burning. Sadly, the use of woodfueled fireplaces is not yet outlawed - and it should be!
This would provide much cleaner air for people to breathe. Each neighbourhood should be free of contaminations. Cancer-enhancing molecules have to be eliminated from our daily lives, or Terry's efforts to help stamp out cancer will be in vain.
Brie Oishi
Port Coquitlam