Latest news with #CancerCareManitoba
CTV News
05-08-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Cancer survivor swims 16 kilometres across Lake Winnipeg, plans to finish journey next year
An Alberta man took to the water to swim across Lake Winnipeg to raise funds for cancer research. Jonathon Fenton hit the water Sunday following a one-day delay and managed to swim 16 kilometres of the 26-kilometre length of the lake between Grand Beach and Gimli. 'My shoulders basically gave out,' he said on Monday. 'I couldn't raise them anywhere. I couldn't do the front crawl, so I had to switch to breaststroke, and it was just too slow, and I was running out of time. 'It's an incomplete. It's not a failure. That's the way I've got to look at it.' Fenton, who survived two bouts of cancer, was doing the swim to raise money for CancerCare Manitoba, Health Sciences Centre Foundation and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. He has raised more than $36,000 since he announced the plan for the swim. The original idea was to do the swim on Saturday, but high winds pushed it back a day. They were still recorded at 15 kilometres per hour on Sunday when he jumped in at Grand Beach. 'It was wavy,' he said. 'I mean, I was swimming between the troughs, because there were waves coming from the south and I'm going due west, so I was in the troughs. And so, I couldn't breathe on the left side, getting a mouthful of water. And then at times, I couldn't see the pontoon boat because I was in the trough, you know, and it was going over. 'I felt like a cork in a washing machine. I was getting bounced around. But sure enough, right around 11, it started to settle, and then it got really nice.' Fenton was inspired by Diana Nyad's swim from Cuba to Florida and says he plans to return next year to finish the remainder of his journey. 'It took her a fifth time before she made it to Key West, so now I know what I'm up against.' People who wish to donate to his charitable campaign can do so online. -With files from CTV's Danton Unger and Harrison Shin.
CTV News
01-08-2025
- Health
- CTV News
He beat cancer twice. Now he wants to swim across Lake Winnipeg
Jonathon Fenton looks out at Lake Winnipeg on August 1, 2025. (Danton Unger/CTV News Winnipeg) An Alberta man plans to swim across Lake Winnipeg to raise funds for cancer research—research he says has saved his life twice. Jonathon Fenton, 61, is planning to swim from Grand Beach to Gimli—a 26-kilometre swim expected to take him about 10 hours. It's all part of a fundraiser he is calling 'Jonny's Big Swim'. 'I'm doing it to celebrate five and a half years after my stem cell transplant, the second time I had non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma,' Fenton told CTV News. Jonathon Fenton Jonathon Fenton is seen in hospital while battling cancer. (Jonathon Fenton) It was 1999 when Fenton's doctor discovered a tumour the size of a football. 'My only experience with cancer up until then was my mom dying of it when I was 10 years old. So the immediate thought is, 'Oh, you have cancer. Okay, I'm out,'' he said. 'You think you're done, but you're not.' After chemotherapy, Fenton lived cancer-free for 20 years. Then in 2019, Fenton discovered another tumour, launching him into another battle for his life. He won that battle too. 'It wouldn't have happened without the research. So I think you just got to keep going. Go for the next breakthrough,' he said. So far Fenton, who was born and raised in Manitoba, has raised about $22,000 for CancerCare Manitoba, the Health Sciences Centre Foundation and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. 'They all played a part in the double cancer journey,' he said. Jonathon Fenton Jonathon Fenton, 61, speaks with CTV Winnipeg about his plan to swim from Grand Beach to Gimli to raise money for cancer research. (Danton Unger/CTV News Winnipeg) But why swim across Lake Winnipeg? Fenton said he got the idea while watching a movie on Diana Nyad, a woman who at the age of 64 successfully swam 180 kilometres from Havana, Cuba to Key West, Florida. 'It just sort of hit me like a bolt. I could do that across Lake Winnipeg. It's only 26 (kilometres). There's no sharks, there's no jellyfish, no man-o'war, no shipping channel or a shipping lane. How hard could that be?' After a year of training, Fenton plans to begin his swim on Saturday as long as the weather cooperates. He hopes his story will encourage others who are going through the same fight he did. 'I just want to show them, if an old geezer can get into the lake—I don't know if I'm going to make it, but at least I'll try—after two bouts of it, you know, for someone in their 20s, 30s, younger than me, maybe I'll be okay.' More details about Fenton's swim and fundraiser can be found on the Jonny's Big Swim website.
CTV News
15-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Nearly $2M raised in support of fighting cancer: Challenge for Life
The Challenge for Life finish line revealed how much funds were raised as part of the annual fundraiser. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) Hundreds of Manitobans gathered at Assiniboine Park Saturday morning in support of fighting cancer. Challenge for Life, a fundraising event with proceeds going to CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, allowed participants to commit to a personal fitness goal by choosing either a 20-kilometre walk, 5-kilometre walk, a 200-minute workout or a virtual activity. Isabella Consiglio, a 25-year-old cancer survivor, was one of the approximately 1,150 participants that signed up for this year's event. 'It's very empowering to be on this side of things and just knowing that it's making such a big difference in, not only like my life, because I'm a survivor, but other people's lives, and continuing that,' said Consiglio. Team Isabella Isabella Consiglio, who has since defeated cancer, says that it's important to continue supporting causes such as the Challenge for Life. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) Consiglio said she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at 17-years-old, causing a disruption to her senior year of high school and a passion for competitive dance. Following almost two-and-a-half years of treatment, Consiglio said she's been cancer-free ever since. 'It's just really important to continue supporting these causes,' she said. 'Everybody's affected by cancer … if you're a survivor, a fighter, you just know someone — everybody's affected by it.' Expand Autoplay 1 of 27 Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Member of CTV News at Challenge for Life on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life A chalk message on a trail during Challenge for Life on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life A chalk message on a trail at Challenge for Life on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Member of CTV News at Challenge for Life on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Daniel Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life A Challenge for Life participant and their dog on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Challenge for Life Challenge for Life participants on June 14, 2025. (Diane Kashton/CTV News Winnipeg) Patti Smith, president and CEO of CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, said that more than 7,500 donors resulted in nearly $1.8 million being raised during the 18th annual event. 'It's a real community that results in the incredible success of a day like this,' said Smith. 'This community is one like no other I know, and a day like this is possible because of the investment of so many.' Members from CTV News assisted in setting up a pit stop at Munson Park, where water stations and food was available to participants. Since 2008, Challenge for Life has raised more than $18.2 million to change lives, including $1.6 million being raised last year. 'It sucks to be part of it, but it's an amazing community, and they make such a big difference,' said Consiglio. -With files from CTV's Daniel Timmerman
CBC
09-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
New CancerCare Manitoba building could cost up to $1 billion: Kinew
The Manitoba government says construction on a long-promised centre for cancer research and treatment will get underway next year. The new headquarters for CancerCare Manitoba was cancelled by the former Progressive Conservative government in 2017, and the NDP promised in 2023 to build it if elected. Premier Wab Kinew says $11.5 million has been set aside this year for design work and a four-year construction project is expected to start next year. Kinew says a very preliminary cost estimate is more than $800 million, but that figure could rise to $1 billion. The current building opened in 2003, and Dr. Dhali Dhaliwal, former CEO of CancerCare Manitoba, says a new, larger building with updated technology is needed. The project is to be built near the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg.
CTV News
09-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
New building to fight cancer could cost $1 billion, Manitoba premier says
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew speaks with media before at a First Ministers Meeting at the National War Museum Friday, March 21, 2025 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government says construction on a long-promised centre for cancer research and treatment will get underway next year. The new headquarters for CancerCare Manitoba was cancelled by the former Progressive Conservative government in 2017, and the NDP promised in 2023 to build it if elected. Premier Wab Kinew says $11.5 million has been set aside this year for design work and a four-year construction project is expected to start next year. Kinew says a very preliminary cost estimate is over $800 million but that figure could rise to $1 billion. The current building opened in 2003, and Dr. Dhali Dhaliwal, former CEO of CancerCare Manitoba, says a new, larger building with updated technology is needed. The project is to be built near the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025. Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
