Yellowknife (May 20/05) - Bonny Madsen knows the pain of losing loved ones to cancer.

Her mother and grandmother died from breast cancer and her uncle died from prostate cancer.

The Path for a Cure, shown off by artist Bonny Madsen, will help promote the North's new Run For Our Lives campaign. - Kent Driscoll/NNSL Photo

"The path ahead of her seemed hopeless. For her, a cure didn't come fast enough," said Madsen of her mother's struggle with the disease.

When the organizers of the new Run For Our Lives campaign asked her to create a painting for their cancer fundraiser, she couldn't say no.

She titled her painting The Path to A Cure. It will be used on all brochures, promotion and marketing.

"While I was painting it, I was emotional about four times, crying," said Madsen.

The painting shows a mother and daughter walking along the Yellowknife River in the fall. She stopped counting how long she spent on the painting at 60 hours. What she couldn't stop thinking about was her mother.

The unveiling of the painting was the first event for the new Run For Our Lives cancer fundraiser. It replaces the national Run For The Cure, which has taken place in Yellowknife since 1996.

The old campaign, with it's familiar pink ribbons, helped raise money for cancer research.

The new campaign uses the same ribbon, but it will raise money exclusively for Northern cancer services.

"The funds that were raised, none of them could be used for equipment. There's no specific research going on in the North," said run organizer Linda Busey.

"We wanted all the funds raised by Northerners to be fully accessible to Northerners."

They still plan to support breast cancer research, by donating about 25 per cent of the money raised.

They raised $60,000 last year with the Run for a Cure and are hoping to bring in more than $100,000 this year.

The run happens in Yellowknife on October 2.

It will also be run in Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Fort Simpson, Hay River, Norman Wells and Inuvik.