In October 2025, I heard the words no one ever expects to hear: “You have cancer.”
What started months earlier with a hospital stay for diverticulitis eventually led to the discovery of a tumor in my colon and a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. From there, life became a series of appointments, scans, surgeries, procedures, treatments, infusion pumps, good days, hard days, and a whole new vocabulary I never wanted to learn.
On July 15, 2026, after nearly 10 months of fighting, I rang the bell and completed treatment.
But ringing the bell doesn’t mean the fight against cancer is over. For me, it meant entering survivorship—a new phase focused on recovery, getting back to living life, and doing everything possible to make sure cancer never gets another opportunity.
It also gave me an entirely different perspective on why cancer research matters.
Research isn’t something happening in a lab somewhere that may help someone someday. It is what creates the treatments, technologies, clinical trials and breakthroughs that give people like me more options, more time and more reasons to believe there is life on the other side of a cancer diagnosis.
That is why I’m participating in Pedal the Cause.
100% of every dollar raised through Pedal the Cause funds innovative cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. That means every donation—regardless of size—is directly helping researchers pursue the next discovery that could change someone else’s story.
This year, I’m not just riding to raise money.
I’m riding for the people still fighting.
Cancer gave me plenty of reasons to say no over the last year.
It also reminded me that my reasons to say yes will always outweigh them.
Please consider supporting my ride and helping fund the research that gives more people the opportunity to say yes to what comes next.
Offline Payment Instructions
Check Donations - Please make the check payable to Pedal the Cause and mail to address: Pedal the Cause, PO Box 790372, St. Louis, MO 63179-0372
Stock donations and Donor-Advised Fund - When processing a DAF grant through a charitable giving account, search for the Pedal the Cause by tax ID (27-2233336). In the “notes” section, indicate the Pedal the Cause fundraiser you want to support.
*Once the check is received Pedal the Cause will post the check to your profile. Please note it typically takes 10-14 days to post.
