Terry Fox. Terry Fox inspired the nation and the world through his courageous struggle against cancer and his determination to raise funds for cancer research. Not long after losing his right leg to cancer, Fox decided to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research.Click to see full answer. Also asked, why is the Terry Fox Run important?The Terry Fox Run is an annual non-competitive charity event held in numerous regions around the world in commemoration of Canadian cancer activist Terry Fox, and his Marathon of Hope, and to raise money for cancer research.Additionally, when did Terry Fox die? June 28, 1981 Thereof, why is Terry Fox a hero? Terry Fox was definitely a hero because he ran a marathon to raise money for caner research. If Terry had not set out to run a marathon across Canada, and had tried to just raise money for an illness shared with other Canadians, he would have only been known as the person who had one leg amputated because of cancer.Why did Terry Fox stop running?However, on September 1st, after 143 days and 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles), Terry was forced to stop running outside of Thunder Bay, Ontario because cancer had appeared in his lungs.