Sarah Cook: Celebrating a Decade of Fighting for Others

By Carine Mazhar
 
A cancer diagnosis is a daunting prospect for most people, but for a child with her whole life before her, it can be terrifying. It was at the tender age of eight that Sarah Cook was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma. As she began the battle for her own life, she also vowed to fight for those in the hospital beds around her by raising money to buy new pillows for other children on the inpatient Hematology/Oncology floor at the Montreal Children’s Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). The Sarah Cook Fund was born, and has been making a difference to the lives of pediatric cancer patients ever since.
 
Since its inception, the Sarah Cook Fund has raised over $4.5 million through donations from generous individual and proceeds from special events. “I never expected to take this path in life, but it’s one that has allowed me to meet so many wonderful and inspirational people, many of whom are also fighting this cancer battle,” says Sarah Cook. “I feel very fortunate to have been able to make a difference in the lives of others, the effects of which I hope will last a lifetime.”

This year, the Sarah Cook Fund is commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the completion of treatments for Sarah’s first bout with cancer at the Grin & Bear It Gala on Thursday, November 3, 2011. “The Gala is a celebration of Sarah’s success in beating this awful disease and the many accomplishments of the Sarah Cook Fund over the past 10 years,” says Bradley J. Massi, Chair of the Organizing Committee.
 
For more information about the Grin & Bear It Gala, please visit: www.sarahsgala.ca.