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Winnipeg Free Press
28-07-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Two-time cancer survivor plans fundraising swim from Victoria Beach to Gimli
Jon Fenton remembers being at Victoria Beach as a child, thinking it would be impossible to swim from one side of Lake Winnipeg to the other. Decades later, the 61-year-old will attempt to prove he was wrong by tackling the waves to raise money for medical research. Fenton successfully battled cancer twice and now wants to use the 26-kilometre swim across the lake to give patients hope. SUPPLIED Jon Fenton, 61, hopes to raise $75,000 and donate $25,000 apiece to the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, Health Sciences Centre Foundation and the Alberta Cancer Foundation, by swimming across Lake Winnipeg from Victoria Beach to Gimli in August. 'If they see an old geezer getting into the water to attempt to cross a lake, maybe they'll think, 'If he can go through it twice, maybe I'll be all right,'' he told the Free Press Thursday. Fenton hopes to raise $75,000 and donate $25,000 apiece to the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation, Health Sciences Centre Foundation and the Alberta Cancer Foundation. While living in Japan with his wife Laura and three children in 1999, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma a type of cancer that targets white blood cells and the body's immune system. The family decided to return to Manitoba, where he was treated at Health Sciences Centre. After undergoing treatment, he was cancer-free for 20 years, but it returned in 2020 when he was living in Diamond Valley, 40 kilometres south of Calgary. 'I thought 'Well, I've had a nice 20-year run, but definitely this has got to be game over,'' he said. But he qualified for a stem-cell transplant in Calgary that eliminated all signs of the disease. When he celebrated his fifth-year anniversary last year for kicking his second bout, he wanted to do something to give back so research can continue discovering new treatments. 'We're far from done. Let's keep it going. Let's get the next big breakthrough, and the next one, and the next one. We can't really give up,' he said. Fenton got the idea for the fundraiser when he and his wife watched a 2023 film Nyad, which told the story of Diana Nyad's multiple attempts — the fifth, in 2013 at the age of 64, taking 53 hours was ultimately successful — to swim from Cuba to Florida. While he's previously competed in triathlons and swam up to four kilometres in races, getting across Lake Winnipeg from Victoria Beach to Gimli will be a far bigger challenge, he said, adding he started training for the swim in January 2024 and has since racked up 176 kilometres in total. He said there are parallels to be drawn between the challenge to come and the health journeys he's travelled: when someone begins cancer treatment, it's difficult to stay positive because of the toll it takes both physically and mentally. SUPPLIED Taking the process week by week has helped him — then and now; if he tried to think about the treatment or the 26-kilometre swim in their entirety, he couldn't 'wrap his mind around it,' he said. 'It's easy to say, hard to do, but it helps. Just bite off little chunks and then you're through your cancer treatment, and hopefully I'm on the other side of the lake,' he said. 'It's a long game, hang tough and take it week by week.' Fenton is hoping to jump in the lake between Aug. 2 and 12, but it will depend on how much wildfire smoke is lingering in the air, weather conditions on the lake and the severity of blue-green algae blooms, which have caused significant environmental damage and produce toxins that pose severe health risks. Weekday Mornings A quick glance at the news for the upcoming day. If conditions don't allow him to attempt the feat, he said he'll take another crack next year. 'I don't want to be a new verse in an Alanis Morissette song: 'isn't it ironic/don't you think?/a two-time cancer survivor/expires in the drink,'' Fenton sang with a laugh. 'I don't want that verse coming out.' Others have successfully made it across Lake Winnipeg. Friends Jacques Marcoux and Patrick Peacock were the last to successfully try it, completing a 31-kilometre swim from Victoria Beach to Gimli in about 14 hours in August 2011. In August 1955, 20-year-old Kathie McIntosh became the first to swim across, making her way from Grand Marais to Winnipeg Beach in a little more than 16 1/2 hours.
Winnipeg Free Press
31-05-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sponsored Content The decision you make today will help Manitobans for generations to come.
Dear Friends, My name is Marilyn and I have made the decision to leave a gift to the Health Sciences Centre Foundation in my will. Well, that's half true. I have indeed decided to leave a gift to the HSC Foundation in my will, but my name isn't Marilyn. When it comes to charitable giving, I choose to remain anonymous. That's just my way; my preference. And I am ever so grateful that the HSC Foundation's commitment to respecting my wishes is ironclad. I am a regular supporter of the Foundation. I trust the organization and I know that the donations I make today and the gift that will come from my estate- will be invested and targeted according to my wishes for the benefit of all Manitobans. Through the gifts we all make-gifts of all sizes- we equip Health Sciences Centre with state-of- the-art technology, we help upgrade the hospital's facilities, and we support vital research that will enhance patient care for the long term. By funding excellence and innovation, HSC Foundation donors can help HSC attract and retain the best and brightest medical talent. That is vitally important for health care in Manitoba. We don't know what the future will hold for ourselves and for our loved ones. We do know, however, that by supporting the HSC Foundation with gifts in our wills, we can make sure that our hospital remains nimble, efective, and in a position to provide leading-edge care to everyone for many, many years to come. Leaving a gift in your will is a powerful way to enhance community well-being. To learn more about your legacy giving options at the HSC Foundation, I encourage you to contact Irma McKenzie, Director of Gift Planning, at 204-515-5624, or by email at imckenzie@ And if you have already named the HSC Foundation in your will, please let Irma know. I assure you that the Foundation will respect your request for anonymity. Thank you for your consideration! Sincerely, Marilyn B. Leaving a gift to the HSC Foundation in your will might offer significant tax benefits. Call Irma McKenzie at the HSC Foundation for additional insights, and always speak with your estate lawyer, accountant, and financial advisor for professional advice. Legacy givers come from all walks of life. Leaving a gift in your will is a way to express your values and have a meaningful and enduring impact on life in Manitoba.
Winnipeg Free Press
28-04-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Surgical robot officially revealed
Manitoba's first surgical robot was officially unveiled at an event at Health Sciences Centre on Monday. Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci Xi has four surgical arms operated by highly sensitive controls. The machine has been in use at HSC since at least February. It is currently being used for thoracic surgery (usually lung and esophageal procedures). gynecologic cancer surgery and urology. It allows surgeons to reach parts of the anatomy that aren't easily accessible with traditional surgical instruments. 'The da Vinci Xi, in essence, extends the capabilities of a surgeon's hands and a surgeon's eyes. The robot's arms move better and with more stability than is possible for human hands; and the enhanced scopes and visualization technology helps us see even the smallest parts of the anatomy with extreme clarity,' Dr. Edward Buchel, HSC's surgery site director, said in a written announcement posted on the foundation's website. The machine was funded by the Health Sciences Centre Foundation's Operation Excellence campaign, in partnership with the province. 'Acquiring Manitoba's first surgical robot is a major milestone for patient care,' foundation CEO Jonathon Lyon said in the announcement. 'The robot is a shining example of how new technology can help us achieve our goals to end surgical wait times. With the robot, patients will experience less pain, less blood loss and lower risks of complications. And because patients treated with the robot are typically discharged from the hospital in a day or two, we'll see better patient flow, a reduced burden on the emergency department and an increase in in-patient bed availability.' An Ji Li, a 33-year-old thoracic patient, suddenly began coughing up blood in December. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent robotic surgery at HSC in February. He was discharged the next day. 'When you hear the word 'cancer,' everything stops. But knowing I had access to this technology gave me real hope,' Li said. fpcity@
