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.

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.

Reason No. 6 to Ride

Reason No. 6 to ride your bike is your community.

Tooling around town or on the bike paths, you get to know the community in a way that you just can’t in your shiny SUV.

I’ve found more little markets and great eateries that I never noticed before. I’ve also found lovely streets and parks to enjoy on the days where I can just meander around.

Slow down, see more – what a concept!

Reason No. 2 to Ride

Reason No. 2: Burn calories, not gas.

Yup, we’ve got the tree hugger perspective here. You are doing something good for the planet, two fold. 1) you are taking care of yourself, which means we’ve one more person on the planet to help cure the common cold and 2) every pedal you push saves that much more of our natural resources. (anyone else hear Emily Katella asking Chevy Chase to save our “National Racehorses”?)