UAE | General
Cancer survivor runs into Dubai as part of trans-continental tour
A two-time cancer survivor ran his way into Dubai on Wednesday as part of his trans-continental run to raise funds and awareness for cancer research.
- By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 September 28, 2006
Dubai: A two-time cancer survivor ran his way into Dubai on Wednesday as part of his trans-continental run to raise funds and awareness for cancer research.
Findlay Young, a former thyroid cancer patient, aims to run 24 half-marathons in 13 countries in 24 days. He ran from the Le Meridien Hotel Dubai yesterday at 6am and finished at 9am.
The 32-year-old Scot told Gulf News that he decided to run across the different countries, starting from Iceland to Brazil, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and India, before arriving in the UAE, to show how cancer affected people from various walks of life in all countries.
"By running, it shows that cancer is a fairly worldwide disease, that it has a strong emotional meaning all over the world, from rich countries to poor countries."
He added his next stop was Ethiopia before flying off to Greece and Holland, and finishing in Newcastle culminating with the BUPA Great North Run.
Young said his running was also symbolic as a way to celebrate life and show other cancer patients that a diagnosis was not necessarily a "death sentence."
He added it also gave him a chance to contribute, by raising funds for UK-based charity Cancer Research UK. Young has so far managed to raise £50,000 (Dh346,445) through his run.
He said he was especially struck by the difference of cancer treatment standards between countries.
"I go to different countries and get a better understanding on … the treatments that are available between countries. Like America where it's cutting edge treatment and India where it's all about the accessibility of the drugs," he said.
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