Thousands of people walked through downtown Toronto Saturday to raise more than $3.6 million for cancer research at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the largest amount raised by a walk to support the centre in six years.

Participants in the Walk to Conquer Cancer, organized by the centre's charity foundation, started the 21 kilometre walk at the waterfront, then passed through several downtown neighbourhoods. Along the way, they made a stop at the centre.

The walk's opening ceremony featured fashion and TV icon Jeanne Beker, who shared her story about being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.

Beker said doctors found a mass after she had a mammogram shortly after her 70th birthday in 2022. She went for an ultrasound a few days later, and was told she needed an MRI and a biopsy.

A couple of weeks later, she received a call from her doctor who said she had cancer and had to go to the centre. She said she was shocked at the diagnosis at first, but says she decided to be brave.

"I thought, okay, I'm going to go through the doors of Princess Margaret with all my heart," she said.

"I remember that day so well. And I walked through the doors and a feeling of comfort overcame me. And I started thinking, you know what, I'm going to look at this place as my temple of healing."

"If you can't change the situation, change your mind. I've always believed that."

In an interview with CBC Toronto, Beker said she decided to "leave fear on the table because I loved my life way too much to live in fear and I was going to try to live in the light."

Beker said she had a message for those in the middle of their battle with cancer.

"I want everyone to know, you know, you're not alone," she said, adding that she felt it was important as someone in the public eye to be open about her cancer experience.

The very first day I sat in that chemo chair, I knew I had a responsibility to my fans and followers to let them know what was going on," she said.

"I told everyone that I had cancer."

Dr. Tulin Cil Cil, the Gattuso chair in breast surgical oncology at the centre, said this type of fundraising is crucial to cancer research and the walk raises awareness of cancer.

"Many of our cancer research programs really rely on philanthropy," she said.

We're really at the forefront of creating new discovery, the best clinical care for patients, and we do that with support from communities like this.".

Miyo Yamashita, president and CEO of the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation, said the $3.6 million represents the largest total amount the foundation has raised in a walk in the past six years, surpassing the foundation's $3 million goal for Saturday's walk.

"We know that 43 per cent of Canadians are diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime and it's a leading cause of death in Canada so we really need to take the stigma out of cancer," Yamashita said.

Beth Johnston, who has been receiving treatment at the centre since she was diagnosed with Leukemia two years ago, took part in the walk Saturday as a way to give back to the place she described as a refuge.

Johnston, who's a mother of two, said the centre has saved her life three times and she is "so confident" in the care she has received there.

"Originally, when you're a patient here, it's very scary, it's very overwhelming. But when you start to do more and more of these events, you see it in a lighter way and you see it as a celebration and a way to give back," Johnston said.

"My doctor always says, 'I got you,' and I know that. I feel it in my soul."