Ben's Army

Ben was diagnosed with Bilateral Retinoblastoma (cancer in both of his eyes) in March 2021 when he was 11 months old. Ben has received (and continues to be treated) with exceptional care from the Retinoblastoma team at SickKids Hospital in Toronto. Starting in October 2021, our family has run an annual relay marathon to raise money for the team treating Ben to support research for existing and future children with Retinoblastoma. As of August 2023, we have raised over $230K from the help of generous donors which supports the Retinoblastoma team in saving the lives and vision of many more children just like Ben.

Why We are Running

Ben's form of cancer is quite rare; his team relies heavily on donations for research, medical trials, staffing and much more.  Starting in March 2021, Ben’s doctors worked tirelessly with our little warrior to save his life, his eyes (from having to be removed to stop the cancer spread) and to begin restoring his vision. Ben received 6 rounds of systemic chemo, 2 rounds of targeted chemo directly to his eyes, and 10+ shots (and counting, currently administered monthly) directly to his eyes to manage the tumors in his retinas. The tumors in his eye (while no longer cancerous) have caused vision damage rendering him nearly blind. Ben's journey is far from being over however he would not be with us today if not for donations to his team throughout the years that saved Ben’s life. Ben was the first child in Canada to receive a particular type of targeted chemo treatment which will pave the way for other children in Canada and globally. We are running for Ben and all future children with Retinoblastoma.