Reason No. 15 to Ride

Reason number 15 to ride is you make a difference to people like Virginia Garner and others like her.

Virginia Garner is a blood cancer patient who became part of the LLS family when she was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).  She is now a First Connection volunteer, a vocal member of her local CML Support Group, active in the Light The Night Walk “CML BUSTERS”, a mentor through Team In Training, involved in presentations through the School & Youth program and just an incredible resource!  Here is a recent note from Virginia:

Ten years ago today (April 19, 2009) I sat in an examination room at UCLA as a participant in a clinical trial where I swallowed my first Gleevec pills.  It’s hard to believe that all that time has passed.  I remember having the pills in one hand and a cup of water in the other and chatting with Dr. Sawyers, Ginny the nurse, Van my husband, and Connie my sister-in-law until they lost patience and demanded that I swallow the pills.  When I did, there was a hush in the room that I’ll never forget.  I interpreted it as everyone there wondering what would happen next:  Would my eyeballs fall out?  Would my arms fall off?  Would I descend into uncontrollable fits of coughing?  Of course, what did happen was absolutely nothing, except that I walked out of that room armed with a new hope and on the road to complete molecular remission of the CML that had ravaged my body.  That’s a pretty big nothing, huh?

For over two years now, my follow up tests have come back showing no detectable cancer cells, and I live a full and productive life full of energy and joie de vivre.  These days I gratefully dedicate my time to others going through cancer treatment, whether it is by sharing my story with patients or fundraising for cancer research.  I have the hope that one day all cancers will be obliterated, and more people can live a satisfying and full existence like me.  Life is good!

To learn more about LLS, please visit www.LLS.org.

Causes for a Cure

There are just so many ways I can help make a difference, and surprisingly, it isn’t always all about me. (I know, I know!)

This year I thought I could best help by supporting Gregory Rutchik. Gregory is campaigning for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Greater Los Angeles Chapter as a Man of the Year 2009 for the Los Angeles.

I’ll admit, I’m a little biased. Not only am I supporting him in his campaign, but I did nominate him as a candidate. (which is why I’ll sneak in a little link for you to donate by clicking here)

During his 9 week campaign (which ends on March 29th) I’ve learned how the Man & Woman of the Year event differs from what we do when cycling for the LLS cause. The MWOY helps two children in each chapter. The Greater Los Angeles chapter has been working with two amazing children, Tyler Cordova and Kelly Delaney.

Watching these two at our most recent event really showed me that personal strength and courage comes from within at any age level. Tyler has certainly learned this, although he has had to learn more than any child should (how many 5 year olds can discuss the differences between prednisone and dexamethasone),

Speaking to Kelly’s mother at this same event, she told me how incredibly grateful she was for the generosity of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and that many strides have been made for cancer research and treatment enabling children like Kelly to return to a normal happy childhood.  I was overwhelmed with emotion when she said “We are eternally grateful for the chance given to Kelly to have her life back”.

Help Tyler and Kelly

I’m not always cycling for a cure, sometimes I am working in other ways to help the LLS’s mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Recently, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Greater Los Angeles Chapter honored Gregory Rutchik by nominating him as a Man of the Year 2009 for the Los Angeles.

I ask that you join Gregory Rutchik by making a contribution to his LLS fundraising campaign. Each dollar raised counts as one vote and the candidate who gets the most donations is named our local Man or Woman of the Year. As Man of the Year candidate he is raising money in honor of two local patients and truly hope to help make blood cancers a thing of the past.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s mission is an ambitious task and Gregory has taken it on! DONATE to help Gregory Rutchik help children like Tyler Cordova and Kelly Delaney.

Gregory and Kelly

Gregory and Tyler

Didja know?

Who was the host of TV’s first telethon, which raised $1.1 million for cancer research?

Answer: Milton Berle was the host of TV’s first telethon, which raised $1.1 million for cancer research.

Day Two is almost done – Getting home from The Ride to Conquer Cancer

The train almost did me in. I had no idea I would get motion sickness, not having been on a train in 30 years (for those of you doing the math, I was 16. Trust me, it does too add up to 29). I thought it was extremely ironic that I made it over 200K on a bike only to be taken down by a train ride.

Fortunately, I had met some terrific people along the way, Kate and Sue pulled me to the end of the car where we had lots of room, lovely bottles of water waiting for us and time to regroup.

I hadn’t expected all that was done for us. I’m no stranger to corporate sponsors but in this case it was an amazing out pouring. Via Rail donated their trains to us for the trek from Niagara to Toronto. They provided the endless water bottles too.

We returned to the Exhibition Centre and I got my bike and gear. Just then Joe, who I had also met on the second day, promised to see me back to the B&B, making sure the American didn’t get lost along the way.

As soon as we took off, I got sicker and told Joe I would walk. He wouldn’t hear of it. He took my pack, tossed it on his handle bars set about his way, taking care of the US. I could not believe it, 2 days, his own gear and he was still willing to help me out. Just one more incredible story in this whole journey.

Day Two – The Ride to Conquer Cancer

Day two had me extremely excited that I was going to see Niagara Falls. I woke up, donned my Team US gear and got ready to pedal away.

I don’t know what happened, I felt awesome, but I was working harder than I have in a long time. Fortunately for me, the game is mental and I had a lot of help along the way. I was wearing my US cycling clothes and everyone was asking where I was from, they were all very impressed that I flew up just for the event and going back immediately. So many people asked me why. I was dumbfounded and never came up with an answer other than it must be the same reason as theirs.

After a while, people were calling me “LA” I have no idea how everyone found out but even the traffic volunteers would yell “Go LA” as I got there. It might have been the Toronto police officer I rode with for awhile (I was very impressed that I could keep up).

They were definitely right, day was an easier ride for us. I loved the area we were in and did a lot of rubber necking. But I’ll be honest, two days on a bike in and out of the rain, with less sleep then anyone should have, takes its toll on you.

Out in the middle of beautiful nowhere, I hit a hill around 60 Km, so I was pretty tired at this point. About 3/4s of the way up I saw bikers who were off to the side resting and onlookers, they starting cheering me on to the top and up I went. I could almost see the crest and thought I won’t make it, but three guys started yelling “USA, USA, USA” and it was all I needed.

Leaving the 64 km pit stop the Niagara Ice Dogs bus stopped and offered me a ride. I explained I was OK an had just stopped in the shade to stretch out my back. After they left, I thought I should have asked to go inside for a second so I could at least say I had been on the tour bus, but I knew if I accepted a ride, I could not live with my self after all this work. Just before the final pit stop I hit a pot hole, hard. The back tire blew and I was done. I wasn’t too worried, there had been support and sweep vehicles everywhere. So I walked, as I walked I realized that I was pretty alone and that maybe i was at the end of the stragglers – this got me very concerned. My angels Erica and Renee picked me up, took me to the next stop and we tried to get a bike tech. Seems they were all out. We finally got one and replaced my tire but I had lost so much time they were packing up the stop and I really would be alone. There was talk of taking me about 1 km before the finish line so I could still cycle in. It seemed appealing and cheating at the same time. Instead I got taken to a small group of riders and dropped off for safety but still able to ride a reasonable amount. WIth both days being over 100 km and my cycling too and from the event I was able to still feel pretty good about a 3 km loss and know that I was well on the way to the finish line.

Finally, I rounded the last curve and started heading downhill. I heard the Falls. I looked to my right and could see the mist coming up and started to cry. I realized my glasses were fogging up and I could wipe out pretty bad, so I pulled it together and made it in.

I honestly thought I would hit the finish and be a part of the hugging and the crying and all the hoopla. Instead I got some food, found out where to go next, talked to a few people and got on the train back in sort of a quiet way. Oh, and we learned that trains make me seasick.

Do I have cancer?

I honestly don’t know how to answer that. I don’t feel like a survivor, I don’t feel like those incredible people I see all around me, and I’ve never had chemo. I just feel fortunate, so I say no.

Let me explain, I have had tumors that pop up now and then. They’ve been showing their ugly self for over 23 years now (the first when I had a one year old daughter). I have two at the moment.

I am fortunate in the respect, that they are all perfectly round and as my doctor once said, “we can scoop them out with a melon baller” I see them as an inconvenience. I don’t think I am in denile, I’m well aware that each one is potentially the once that malforms and changes my life. But for now, I will be grateful that I am not among the ones I ride for.

I do have another challenge. I am very fair skinned and freckled. Mom gave me red hair too. This means that I have a few small melanomas that we watch carefully. I often joke that all this riding for the cause is going to kill me with skin cancer.

Day One – The Ride to Conquer Cancer

Bleary eyed, I arrived at the exhibition centre, dropped off my gear, and got some breakfast. I learned right away that vegetarian means you get breads and grains. I can’t have that so I shrugged it off and ate what would keep me strong for the next two days, bacon and bananas – breakfast of the champions. I know that coffee dehydrates but I was worried about those migraines I get when I don’t have coffee so I had a cup and two extra cups of water to be safe.

They gave us all event cycling jerseys to wear on day one. To see over 2,500 people all in a sea of yellow was overwhelming for me. All those people working towards the same goal. I could not stop crying. The speeches got to me, as they were meant to, but when They brought out 6 people escorting the riderless bike, it hit home hard.

There were 3 ladies holding a hand lettered sign that said “Go Treehuggers”, I thanked them for looking out for us Californians and asked them to snap my very first photo where I was brave enough to let you all see me in full spandex. Oy. They weren’t cheering on the Californians, they had a team named Tree Huggers, go figure.

Day Zero – The Ride to Conquer Cancer

OMG, I mean OMG. I’ve never seen anything like this. In fact, I think I’ll just post photos of the lines and exhibition hall.

I arrived about an hour early, waited in a long line then rounded the corner to this:

The process took about 2 hours, was very smooth and pleasant, going from one station to another, picking up what I would need along the way and getting all my questions answered. WIth me, there is no safety in answering a question, it just means that one more will follow. Packet in hand, it was time to leave.

Richard and I went to dinner where I would ask more questions about the area. Will there be any hills, I repeatedly wanted to know. Silly question, its 200K, of course there will be hills.

On the way to The Ride to Conquer Cancer

I signed up for this ride because I am firmly of the belief that cancer does not stop at the US/Canada border. The cause is near and dear to my heart, but this event more so because it does not focus on one exclusive form of cancer – it doesn’t single out the trendy cause or the plight of the moment. The Princess Margaret Hospital is an all cancer facility, with departments or whole floors that specialize in one type or another. Something like this may have helped my father-in-law, who in his 70s passed of a pediatric cancer because no one knew how to handle it. I don’t know, but I’d like to think so.

The extra benefit of the event is the one that has me very excited to be on the plane today. I will finally get to see parts of a country I love and am thinking of expanding my business to.Cycling from Toronto to Niagara will certainly allow me to see a beautiful place and maybe let me know a little more about Ontario.

I’ve hit some snags in the transportation from the city to the event and back again. I think things have been ironed out but we’ll see. It turned out to be a good diversion yesterday, allowing me to go into “Manager Mode” and not stress too much about the event. I had thought that I would be going to the event with Richard and tossing my gear into his truck. Not only am I not doing that but I should have wondered how I was going to get back because he is leaving Niagara earlier than I am and I knew that! No worries, but because I am cycling to the event from the hotel I’m limited on what I can carry as I ride. I’ll have my sleeping bag inside a back pack with whatever clothes may fit. I had to leave my blanket and ground mat at home – we’ll see how I fair the second day. I’m not too worried, it just may give me a few good stories to tell and a badge of honour to go with it.

A not too minor concern is the food/drink powder I’ve packed. As a diabetic who is so far staying off the insulin, I can not afford to reply on the SAG stops for my meals and as anyone knows, your food is your fuel. I’m hoping that all those little bags of powder, nuts and cliff bars will fit in the pack. I’ve done a ride without and walked 17 miles because I bonked. I will make it fit. Lawrd knows, I am NOT tossing the sleeping bag too!  Oh, and to top it off, it’s “that time” – I’m thinking of stuffing the pads into my bra for storage. Who knows, I might make a few friends