Jack Layton. Canada's Newsmaker of the Year Reaches out to People with Cancer

Its little wonder that Jack Layton' death ( Leader of Canada's New Democratic Party) touched Canadian so deeply.  Canadian Press picked him as Canada's Newsmaker of the Year, by a whopping 90%. In some ways he was a reincarnate of the Terry Fox story. Fox, tried to run across Canada on one leg - as his personal mission statement to fight cancer. Jack succumbed to cancer after becoming the first NDP leader to take his party to the official opposition position in Ottawa.  But, the victory was short lived for Jack died a short time later.  And, in his heroic fashion, he didn't publicly tell of the cause of his death, for he didn't want to discourage those who were fighting the same illness.

To other Canadians who are on journeys to defeat cancer and to live their lives, I say this: please don't be discouraged that my own journey hasn't gone as well as I had hoped. You must not lose your own hope. Treatments and therapies have never been better in the face of this disease. You have every reason to be optimistic, determined, 
and focused on the future. My only other advice is to cherish every moment with those you love at every stage of your journey, as I have done this summer...