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One of my best moments of this Christmas season came when I received an email from my old friend Russ Kisby. Russ was a co-creator of ParticipACTION and it was his continuing energy and acumen which made ParticipACTION what many considered to be the leading social marketing agency for physical activity and wellness in the world. (Read the ParticipACTION article by Russ that appeared in our Summer 2001 issue of Well, REFLECTIONS ON A PIONEER IN HEALTH PROMOTION
In June 2002, Russ was diagnosed with terminal cancer (mesothelioma) and given 6-12 months to live. He researched the disease and whether any treatment was possible and consistently found the name of thoracic surgeon, Dr. Robert Ginsberg, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, associated with pioneering work in the treatment of mesothelioma.
The cosmic tumblers seemed to be falling into place when Russ was referred by Toronto General Hospital to be treated by a Dr. Robert Ginsberg (Dr. Ginsberg, he was told, was a Canadian who had returned to Toronto General to finish out his career).
Dr. Ginsberg said that Russ' overall fitness and good health made him a suitable candidate for a very aggressive and experimental form of treatment, which included major surgery, chemotherapy and extensive radiation. This surgery took place one year ago, on December 3rd, 2002. Less than two weeks later, on December 15th, Dr. Ginsberg closed his practice and, two months later, by the end of February he was dead. Dr. Ginsberg knew he had incurable cancer, and had come home to Toronto to die, but instead of waiting for cancer to claim him, he went to work to save others from the disease he spent his life confronting. When subsequent test results came back favorably for Russ, one of Dr. Ginsberg's former assistants said, "When I read your test results I got goosebumps. Dr. Ginsberg would have been so pleased."
In Russ' own words,
"I feel great, through regular exercise, my energy level has returned; my brain is working (well as much as it ever did...which was no big achievement) and a recent C.T. scan found no evidence of the return of the cancer. I now look forward to continuing to promote wellness with vigor.
If you feel my health adventure may be of interest to some of your 'Well' readers, you have my permission to mention it. Please keep it concise and humble. I'm ever mindful that others have had to face far greater challenges. As previously mentioned, there is no question however that fitness played an invaluable role.
Merle sends her best wishes.
Russ"
To me this is a simple story of two men of good will and I'm so grateful that one of them is still with us to enjoy Christmas 2003. Dr. Ginsberg is no longer with us but many of his patients remain as a living tribute to a brilliant, selfless physician.
An endowed Research Chair is being established in honour of Dr. Ginsberg, as well as a tribute to Dr. Pearson, Ginsberg's mentor. These two Canadians are considered the
pioneers of modern thoracic surgery in North America and trained many of today's leaders in the field worldwide.
Charitable donations will be gratefully received for this underfunded area of research. Please make cheques payable to "Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation" and identify "for the Pearson-Ginsberg Chair". Mail to:
R. Fraser Elliott Bld.,
190 Elizabeth Street (5th. Floor),
Toronto, ON, Canada,
M5G 2C2.
ParticipACTION History and Learnings
For three decades, ParticipACTION pioneered the use of social marketing and health communication techniques to spread its message of an active, healthy lifestyle. This admired "Canadian model" has been copied in some 25 countries.
Now a volunteer team of Canadian health communication specialists (Peggy Edwards, Francois Lagarde, Christa Costas, Art Salmon, Russ Kisby and other contributors) are preparing the History of ParticipACTION with an emphasis on an analysis of its successful strategies. It is hoped that this will benefit active living, wellness and health promotion leaders of future initiatives.
The results will appear as a special supplement (Spring 2004 in both English and French) in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, as well as on a new ParticipACTION website to be hosted by the University of Saskatchewan.
While all of the professional analysis and writing is being donated, the group is seeking charitable donations to cover out-of-pocket production costs. The initial response has been most positive. To make a donation, or for more information on this project, please contact Russ Kisby at russkisby@rogers.com. All contributors will be acknowledged in the Supplement and on the website.
