Jennifer Keys, whose Lymphona is now in remission, ran the 2025 Vancouver Sun Run in her hometown of Terrace, B.C. to support a charity that made travelling to her treatments without being in debt possible.
Hope Air provides free travel support for Canadians who must travel long distances for medical care and cannot afford the cost.
Since 2023, Keys had travel to Vancouver 12 times during her treatment, 10 of which the charity took care of. They also covered Ubers to and from the airport and Vancouver General Hospital, as well as flights for any caregivers she needed.
"It was difficult being diagnosed with Lymphoma, and needing to travel so much. While the government does refund cancer patients for travel here in BC, I still would have had to pay up from, out of pocket, which would have made things more difficult with me being off work at that time, on disability, and needing to travel so frequently. Lots of my appointments were short notice, causing the cost of flights to be incredibly high. They took the stress out of travel for me.
Last year, Keys ran a mini-version of the Vancouver Sun Run inside Vancouver General Hospital while awaiting her stem cell transplant to raise awareness for the charity.
"I spent over two weeks in the transplant ward [at the hospital], in which time, I walked 2.5 km with my IV pole over those two weeks, to get in 2.5 km for the “mini” Vancouver Sun Run."
Now that she is in remission and getting healthier, she wanted to run the full 10 km and she did, on Sunday, April 27, in her neighbourhood of Gossen in Terrace, B.C.
"It was a lot. I'm not usually one to be overexerting, you know, I'd be like procrastinating on walking down to the mailbox, let alone doing 10 kilometres," she shared with a laugh. "But I wanted to try to try to push myself and and do the best I could."
She ran the 10k as a part of Hope Air's Vancouver Sun Run team, Jets Hope Air Force.
"What they're doing for patients is amazing. Unfortunately, lots of people, especially up here in Northern B.C. cannot afford the flights and they just go without the treatment or appointments they need because they can't afford it. Hope Air is just such a valuable asset to have out here, I mean, without them, things would have been a lot harder for me, that's for sure."
Keys also held a charity auction on her Facebook page, Jen's Jewewlry - Terrace BC, raising an additional $300 through selling hand made jewelry.
"I couldn't be more grateful for them," she said.
Hope Air, a featured charity partner of the 2025 Vancouver Sun Run, has arranged over 250,000 travel supports since 1986.
