On 10 September, Sunday, for the 16th time, Poles - and not only! - ran in a gesture of solidarity with cancer patients and their families. It was all thanks to the event that the Sarcoma and Sarcoma Association has been organising since 2008, the "Onkobieg - Together for Health!".
A total of 2,500 registered Onc runners have completed the 25,477 km which translated into the amount of 587 000 gold! This contributed to breaking a record in terms of funds raised, which the Sarcoma Association uses to support patients and cancer prevention.
In keeping with tradition, the Onkobieg took place at the National Institute of Oncology in Warsaw, where 1,500 runners lined a single route to express their solidarity with oncology patients in a symbolic run. Those who could not be in Warsaw and chose to run virtually ran along their individual routes. There were as many as 1,000 runners across Poland.
When the first runners completed their goal by beating their own routes in a virtual run, in the Ursynów district of Warsaw, on the grounds of the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Institute of Oncology, at 9:30 a.m., all the runners were greeted by the studio hosts Kamila Ryciak,, Aleksandra Kurowska, Mateusz Kaczmarek and Damian Bąbol and the organisers of the Onk Run: Kamil Dolecki - President of the Sarcoma Association and Szymon Bubiłek - Vice President of the Sarcoma Association.
"I am enormously pleased to be able to greet you from this place for the 16th time. For me, this is a special event, which is like a battery that charges you with incredible energy for the next year of the Association's activities. Every year there are more and more of us. After registration closed, we received over a hundred requests to join the run. The race packs have sold out every last one , but anyone who would like to support patients is encouraged to get active today. Dedicate your 60 minutes of exercise today to someone close to you who has faced or is facing the disease."-. said Kamil Dolecki, President of the Sarcoma Association, at the outset.
The run was started by the Mayors of the Ursynów and Mokotów districts, Robert Kempa and Rafał Miastowski, who jointly gave the signal for the start. Beforehand, the warm-up was led by footballer Jarosław Bieniuk. In line with the slogan "Together for health", oncosporters all over Poland covered successive kilometres, tagging their photos in Social Media with #Onkobieg.
"Onkobieg is growing and its idea, which originated at the National Cancer Institute, is so important that other centres are joining in the organisation of the run. I would like to congratulate the Lower Silesian Oncology Centre headed by Dr Marcin Ziętek and the organisers from the District Hospital in Starachowice for organising routes for the runners in their regions. Thank you to all the people who joined the Onkobieg for another year of active work for patients and cancer prevention. Together for health!" - mentioned Szymon Bubiłek - Vice President of the Association, organiser of the Onk run.
All talks with invited guests were broadcast from the garden studio at the National Cancer Institute. Doctors, specialists in sports, healthy eating as well as patients and representatives of patient organisations. All accepted the organisers' invitations to remind people about preventive health care.
The organisers set up an Onk run town, where runners could have free preventive examinations, such as a dermatoscopic skin examination in the #FuraZdrowia mobile office, blood glucose and blood pressure measurements performed by the Student Circle of Laboratory Diagnosticians. The DKMS Foundation was present to register potential bone marrow donors. Everyone could also learn how to perform a breast or testicular self-examination at the point of the "Amazons" Warsaw-Centre Association. Volunteers with animations, a mobile hospital for children and a stand of the Dr Clown Foundation awaited the youngest visitors.
The oncology cook-off was hosted by Dominik Moskalenko, while the musical setting was provided by the MK duo of Maciej Dolecki (guitar) and Krzysztof Wąsik (vocals).
The organisers made sure that everyone could follow the entire event in real time with an online report. The entire coverage from the Warsaw studio is available on Onkobieg's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/onkobieg (https://fb.me/e/voPO4cutZ,) and also on the Sarcoma Association's YouTube channel at the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_y3VItnuPE
"Oncology has been made up of wonderful people over the years and a huge part of it is the patients
and supporters who bring incredible energy to the event. To all the patients who could not be with us on the route of this year's Onk Run due to treatment, we wish you lots of strength, recovery and participation in the Onk Run next year", said Ewa Styś, Member of the Sarcoma Association and organiser of the Oncourse, in conclusion.
16 The Oncourse could not take place if it were not for the support of Partners:
Honorary Patronage:
Ministry of Health, Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Patient Ombudsman, Mayor of Ursynów District of the City of Warsaw
Mission Partners:
National Institute of Oncology im. Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Research Institute in Warsaw, Institute of Hematology and Transfusiology in Warsaw, Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw, Polish Oncological Society, College of Family Doctors in Poland, Polish Society of Oncological Surgery, Polish Society of Clinical Oncology, Polish Society of Oncological Orthopaedics, Polish Nursing Society, Polish Psycho-oncological Society, Young Family Doctors, Institute for Patient Rights and Health Education, Polish Coalition of Oncological Patients, Association for GIST Patient Support, Sarcoma Patients Advocacy Global Network, All.Can Poland, Melanoma Academy, ANIKAR Foundation, Association "AMAZONKI" Warsaw - Centrum, Wiesława Adamiec Carita Foundation, Association of Polish Sign Language Interpreters, DKMS Foundation, Polish Union of Oncology
Partners:
Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Eko Cykl Organizacja Odzysku Opakowań S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Garden - Space Sp. z o.o., Pierre Fabre Polska, Compensa Towarzystwo Ubezpieczeń S.A. Vienna Insurance Group, M&M Consulting, Roche Diagnostics Sp. z o.o., Roche Polska Sp. z o.o., DPD Polska Sp. z o.o., MSD Polska Sp. z o.o., Sanofi-Aventis Sp. z o.o., PKO Bank Polski, Bohema House Ecological Theatre, Bohema Dance Ecological Dance School, Project Zero Waste Sp. z o.o., Swedish Orphan Biovitrum Sp. z o.o, Sidnet Solutions Sp. z o. o., Novartis Polska Sp. z o. o., Only Only, Medicart healthcare Sp. z o.o., Amgen Biotechnologia Sp. z o.o., EMS - Euromed Medical Solution Sp. z o.o., Samsung, LOOS Centrum Sp. z o.o., Rawicka Fabryka Wyposażenia Wagonów RAWAG Sp. z o.o., LiveU, Future Gate Sp. z o.o., Centrum Comprehensive Rehabilitacji
Media Patronage:
Radio ESKA, ESKA ROCK, TVP Kobieta, Głos Pacjenta Onkologicznego, portal onkologiczny zwrotnikraka.pl, portal CowZdrowiu.pl, portal MedExpress.pl, haloursynow.pl, Termedia Publishing House, Bieganie.pl, Służba Zdrowia
