When community members gather at the starting line of Brock’s Rankin Cancer Run next month, Alicia Zorzetto will have just crossed the finish line of her marathon cancer battle.

The Head of Collections Services with the Brock University Library was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago and recently completed treatment, which included several rounds of chemotherapy and radiation as well as three surgeries.

Although Zorzetto won’t be able to be a part of this year’s Brock event, taking place from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at Canada Games Park, she hopes to emphasize its significance for anyone thinking of taking part.

The 2024 Rankin Cancer Run is a virtual event, with individuals and organizations participating when and where they choose and creating their own events throughout the year. Since 2006, the run has distributed more than $11.8 million to cancer-care organizations across Niagara, helping to support patients like Zorzetto and their loved ones.

Zorzetto’s experience with the disease is closely tied to the loss of her parents.

Claude Zorzetto (BA ’69, MEd ’78), who played on Brock’s first basketball team, lost his battle with multiple myeloma in 2021.

Her father Claude Zorzetto (BA ’69, MEd ’78) died of multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in 2021. A proud Brock graduate, he played on Brock’s first basketball team.

Her mother Elizabeth Zorzetto was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023 and passed away while Zorzetto was still undergoing her own cancer treatments.

She and her parents received care and support from organizations that have been funded by the Rankin Cancer Run, including the Walker Family Cancer Centre, Hospice Niagara and Wellspring Niagara.

As well as becoming an advocate for those facing late-stage diagnosis, under-funded cancers and cancers with higher mortality rates, such as pancreatic cancer, Zorzetto has become passionate about supporting patients from racialized communities, who can experience barriers accessing health care, and young cancer patients.

After being diagnosed at just 39, she says it is important at any age to get symptoms checked out by a medical professional.

Zorzetto says cases of early-onset cancer are rare but are rising among adults under 40, a group that includes many Brock students and employees, and that these patients tend to be diagnosed with later stage and more aggressive cancers.

“I was lucky in the sense I was working for Brock. I had an incredible employer so I didn’t have as many disruptions as someone in their 20s. Research has shown that there is an extreme disruption in the careers, family life and social life of young cancer patients,” she says.

As a patient, and now survivor, she feels grateful to those who contribute to the fight against cancer through initiatives like the Rankin Cancer Run.

“I can feel their energy while going through my own journey,” she says. “It’s very touching. It not only gives us the resources that we need to fight this battle, but there’s also this strength that comes from the connection to others that we see when people are rallying for this cause.”

Last year, the Brock Functional Inclusive Training Centre (Bfit) received $30,000 for cancer patient exercise programming from the Rankin Cancer Run. Tours of the Bfit facility in Canada Games Park will be offered during Brock’s Rankin Cancer Run for run participants to see first-hand the donated funds at work on Brock’s campus.

Event and registration information for Brock’s Rankin Cancer Run can be found on ExperienceBU. The registration fee, which can be waived by raising $100 in sponsorship, is $20 for adults and $10 for students. Participants who would like to receive a free Rankin Run T-shirt will need to register online by noon on Monday, Sept. 23.  Participants can register online until Oct. 2 or in person at the event, but a Rankin Run T-shirt will not be provided.

Organizers of the Brock-hosted run include the Brock University Retirees’ Association, Health Management and Wellness, Bfit, the Brock University Alumni Association, and Student Life and Success.