Rolland Fox, father of Canadian hero Terry Fox, has been diagnosed with lung cancer.

The family said Fox, who is turning 81 in March, received the troubling news recently but remains in good spirits.

“Though initially troubled by the news, Rolly is committed to approaching the challenge now before him by adhering to the traits - optimism and a never give up attitude – that he likely passed on to his son Terry,” the Fox family said in a statement Tuesday.

Fox began smoking when he was 19, but quit after a dare from his brother nearly 30 years ago. He was able to run 10 miles exactly one year later.

Rolly has been “a behind-the-scenes believer of Terry’s mission for 36 years”, especially since his wife Betty Fox passed away in 2011.

He visits Terry Fox runs across the country each year, the Fox family adds, and personally signs more than 14,000 thank-you letters.

More Canadians die each year from lung cancer than any other forms of cancer. The Terry Fox Research Institute recently completed a pan-Canadian study to detect lung cancer earlier in high-risk populations.

“We thank you for your continued support for our family during this period and for keeping alive Terry’s dream of ending cancer through research,” the Fox family said.

Terry first made headlines in April 1980 when he set out to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research – while battling the bone cancer osteosarcoma and having lost a leg.

He travelled for 143 days and ran 5,400 kilometres when, on Sept. 1, 1980, he was forced to stop because the cancer had spread to his lungs. He died the following June.

Since Terry’s death, more than $650 million has been raised for cancer research in his name.