September 19 saw thousands of people come together in Pécs for a common cause: 3,500 registered runners took part in the charity event “Run for Cancer Treatment!” Érintettek Egyesület – partner association in the e-Quol project – was also there: we ran, met families, presented our work at our information stand, and Dorka Csóri led the group warm-up.
At this year’s “Run for Cancer Treatment!” an event organized by the University of Pécs, the whole city, which is located in the South of Hungary, truly came together. 3,500 registered runners gathered to support an important cause by running, jogging, or walking. Many children and families took part along the route through the city center, while numerous people cheered the participants on from the sidelines.
The run was accompanied by the programs of the PTE Blue Zone Health Day, so visitors could also take part in sports activities, health screenings, demonstrations, and learn about the work of various civil organizations at their information stands.
At the Érintettek stand
We were delighted that Érintettek Egyesület could have its own stand at the event. Throughout the day, we spoke with many parents and children, introduced the association’s work, publications, and programs, and talked about how we support affected families from diagnosis and treatment through to the period following recovery.
Flóra Csóri, a member of Érintettek, not only took part in the run but also helped at our stand. This is how she described the day:
“It was an incredible experience to see how many people came together this year for the Run for Cancer Treatment event, and how many people were brought together by such an important common cause. For me, it meant a great deal that, as a member of Érintettek Egyesület, I was able not only to participate in the run but also to actively contribute to representing the association.
We were very happy that Érintettek Egyesület could have its own stand at the event, where we had the opportunity to introduce the organization’s most important activities and goals, as well as the support we provide every day to affected children and their families. Throughout the day, many interested parents and children visited us. It was particularly meaningful to speak with them personally, tell them about the association’s work, answer their questions, and experience how many people were open to learning more about what we do.”
Dorka and Flóra Csóri at the Érintettek Egyesület stand
For Flóra, the event meant much more than simply participating in a running event:
“It was uplifting to experience the sense of solidarity that surrounded us that day: people of different ages and with different stories came together for the same goal.
I think occasions like this truly show one of the most beautiful sides of volunteering. When so many people come together for a common purpose, you feel even more strongly that you are part of a community, and that our time, presence, and attention can create something of real value.”
Follow-up care remains important after recovery
At our stand, we not only presented the association’s programs and publications. Another important topic was life after childhood cancer and long-term follow-up care.
As a partner in the e-QuoL project, we presented the MyCare digital application developed as part of the project, which is currently still in the development and testing phase. We also highlighted the importance of a survivorship passport.
After childhood cancer, care does not end when treatment is completed. It is important to know what treatments a person received in the past, what late effects need to be monitored, and what examinations they require later in life.
The health passport developed through the e-QuoL project helps with this by bringing together important health information and an individualized follow-up plan in one place.
Dorka Csóri led the group warm-up
Érintettek was present not only at the information stand. Before the run, Dorka Csóri, a member of Érintettek Egyesület, led the warm-up for several thousand participants.
Many people may know Dorka as a contestant on Exatlon Hungary, but her story is particularly important to us: she was only two years old when she was diagnosed with leukemia. After overcoming the disease, sport later became an important part of her life.
It was therefore a particularly special moment to see that the little girl who once underwent treatment for leukemia has now become an athlete who can get thousands of people moving before the start of a run organized to support cancer treatment.💙
Dorka with her fans
“Those people were running for us that day, too”
This year’s participation also had a special personal significance because of another story. Tímea Szentpáli-Rónai first encountered the event one year earlier, when her daughter had just begun treatment:
“The first time I came across the T-shirts advertising the running event was last year. A father was walking down the street with his little boy, and they were both wearing the same blue T-shirt. I had to look twice to make sure I had read it correctly: ‘Run for Cancer Treatment!’
At that moment, my daughter and I were walking back to the hospital from an examination during the first month of her active treatment, and my eyes literally filled with tears when I realized that those people were running ‘for us,’ too, that day.
I decided that if, a year later, we had made it through all of this and the event was organized again, I would run too. Not only for ourselves, but for everyone who is currently fighting cancer at any of the treatment centers across the country.”
A year later, she really was among the runners:
“It was an incredible experience to be there among the crowd, to see everyone running happily, with so many children taking part and so many people cheering us on. The route passed through the most beautiful squares and streets of Pécs.”
Eszter Kővári, member of staff responsible for survivorship passports and IT development within the pediatric oncology network, and Tímea Szentpáli-Rónai, an affected mother working with Érintettek Egyesület
In the meantime, Tímea also joined Érintettek Egyesület, so this year she was able to tell people at the stand about the support the organization had provided to their family during their hospital stay:
“During the year, I also joined Érintettek Egyesület, so alongside taking part in the run, I also had the opportunity to tell people about the many ways the organization made our time in hospital easier: from the Bátorságpróba [Courage Challenge] book, with its kind stories written in language children can understand, through the Érintettek book for parents, the Érintettek Lánca [Érintettek Chain], where examinations and treatments can be recorded in the form of beads, and the Érintettek Akadémia videos featuring healthcare professionals, all the way to publications supporting the return to everyday life.”
Tímea also explained why being part of the Érintettek community is important to her now:
“During the long months in hospital, many parents feel that they would somehow like to give back for all the attention, support, and love they received, primarily from healthcare professionals, but indirectly from many other people as well. However, they often do not know where to start.
Érintettek Egyesület is a perfect place for this. Anyone who wants to can find a way there to support other families and their children along their long journey, or simply become part of a wonderful, supportive community where everyone knows exactly what you have been through.”
Timea, Dorka and Flora have made an important contribution to the Equol project providing help to translate and adapt specific contents for MyCare App and the Healing in two voices series in Hungarian.
Together for an important cause
3,500 registered runners, countless families, spectators, and volunteers — Pécs truly came together that day. For us, however, “Run for Cancer Treatment!” was much more than a running event. It was wonderful to meet, talk, run together, and demonstrate that supporting families affected by childhood cancer does not end when treatment is completed.
As Flóra Csóri put it:
“I am grateful that, as a member of Érintettek Egyesület, I could also be part of this day, the conversations at the stand, the joint activities, and, of course, the run itself. It was an experience that once again reminded me how much strength there is in coming together, and how much it means when so many of us stand beside one another for an important cause.”
Dorka and Flora, twin ambassadors of Érintettek are very active to raise awareness of the importance of survivorship issues, the need for long-term follow-up and peer-support in the community.