Approximately 150 participants will be striding for a cystic fibrosis cure at Sunday's CARSTAR's Great Strides Walk.
Tara Bourque, a patient living with cystic fibrosis, is extremely thankful for all those who have and will continue in the fight for a cure of the disease.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common fatal genetic disease affecting Canadian children and young adults. It is a multi-system disease that affects mainly the lungs and digestive system.
"It's basically a build up of mucus within your body that makes it hard for you to breathe and it also prevents your pancreas from working properly," says Bourque, who was diagnosed when she was 14 months old. "You don't produce enzymes to digest your food to get the nutrients from what you're eating."
When she was 18, Bourque underwent surgery for a double lung transplant and is now currently living with chronic lung rejection and a 27% lung function at the age of 22. There is no way to reverse the damage unless the patient undergoes surgery for another lung transplant.
"This is not a cure for cystic fibrosis in your lungs, it's just a treatment," she says.
However, Bourque says there has been great progress in the field. Over a couple years, researchers have found drugs that are slowing the progression of the disease and target the faulty gene of cystic fibrosis to reverse its impact on the body.
Leading up to Sunday's CARSTAR's Great Strides Walk, Bourque says there is no better time for people to get involved in finding a cure.
"It is incredible to know that there are thousands of people out there, fighting to make sure you get to live a longer life and you get to be healthier for a longer time."
The CARSTAR's Great Strides Walk begins 10am Sunday at the Sarnia Kinsmen Centre and takes place nationally at 65 locations across the country.
Last year, $6,000 was raised locally, a number they're hoping to bump up to $7,500 this year.
