THERE are no clear reasons why Janet Jones got cancer the first, second and now a third time but she is putting on her walking shoes to search for answers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Ms Jones wants to tap into the walking and running trend that emerged amid pandemic restrictions and encourages people to put it to good use in joining her.
The former Ballarat resident has launched the Lighthouse Classic, both a symbolic and practical exercise in her search.
For Ms Jones, the walk will be as 12-kilometre round-trip from Urquhart Bluff near her home in Anglesea along the Surf Coast trail to the Aireys Inlet lighthouse. While Ms Jones encourages others to explore the Surf Coast, this will start out as a virtual event for people to walk whatever distance and location they choose in January with all money raised for Fiona Elsey Cancer Research Institute.
READ MORE
Ms Jones has faced cancer three times the past 33 years and was passionate about the Institute's work in identifying causes for cancer and why some human cells became cancerous.
"The Lighthouse Classic is not just about my cancer, it's about trying to raise funds so we can find out why people get cancer, how we can stop it and how we can improve the treatment," she said.
"We tend to think that cancer is either hereditary or the result of an unhealthy lifestyle but in my situation - and for so many others - that's not the case at all."
We tend to think that cancer is either hereditary or the result of an unhealthy lifestyle but in my situation - and for so many others - that's not the case at all.
- Janet Jones
FECRI's honourary director George Kannourakis will also take the walk from Urquhart's Bluff to the Aireys Inlet lighthouse.
Professor Kannourakis has been Ms Jones' oncologist the past three decades and she has been a passionate supporter for the Institute from when it was first established in 1991.
The Institute has a strong focus on the role of the immune system in fighting cancer and what might be blocking the immune system from tackling cancers.
Professor Kannourakis said by identifying proteins on the surface of cancer cells work could be done to counteract the fog they create to evade the body's immune response. The aim is to reduce reliance on chemotherapy and radiation in treatment.
Walks and runs for The Lighthouse Classic can be undertaken any time during January. For more details, visit fecri.org.au.
Participants are also encouraged to post their achievement on Instagam using #lighthouseclassic21.
