RAGBRAI week is coming to Iowa. A week when 10,000 to 15, 000 people from all over the world ride their bicycles from western to eastern Iowa. Lance Armstrong is joining the ride this year, as is George Weiner, MD, to highlight the ongoing fight against cancer. Weiner, the director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa, talks about cancer awareness:
What is the message you and the American Cancer Society team will be spreading on RAGRBAI ?
There are number of groups who are going to be participating, including the American Cancer Society, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, members of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, and what we're all going to focus on is celebrating cancer survivors, remembering those who we've lost to the disease, and most importantly, fighting back against cancer.
How many riders will be in your group?
There are a number of different groups participating in this. The Lance Armstrong Foundation has a group. I'm going to be riding with the American Cancer Society team, and we have 40 members in our group and that includes cancer survivors, cancer care givers, researchers -- just a diverse group of people who are interested in spreading the news about the need to continue to fight cancer.
Are you riding every mile of the week or just some of the route?
I'm planning on riding every mile of the week if my legs and other body parts permit.
After you ride your bike each day, you will also be working in the overnight towns. What will your role be each evening?
One of the things we'll have along the way is a mobile action center supported by the American Cancer Society. We're asking survivors and other people who are interested to stop by during the day or in the evenings. I'll be there along with other team members from 7 to 8 each evening to talk about cancer research, to answer questions related to cancer, and to increase the profile of our message that we're trying to get out along the ride.
There also will be special events taking place in Cedar Falls, where the Lance Armstrong Foundation is having a major concert, and then the next evening in Independence, where the American Cancer Society is putting an event together.
Are there other events the American Cancer Society will be hosting?
Well, I think the event in Independence is going to have a luminaria ceremony where people who want to honor a loved one who either has died of cancer or is dealing with cancer right now can have a candle lit. And we'll have a ceremony there that we hope to be uplifting and recognize how important it is to focus on this problem.
Lance Armstrong has dedicated the week of RAGBRAI to ride. How important is his presence in the week-long ride?
It's hugely important. His story is so amazing both athletically and how he did this all after conquering an advanced cancer. Having him along the way really raises the profile of what we're doing and really is hugely important for us getting our message out.
How close are we to curing or at least slowing the rate of cancer deaths in Iowa?
Well we are, actually, right now curing more cancers and slowing down the rate of cancer deaths in Iowa. Deaths from cancer in our state have dropped for the past two years, and if you look at the fact that our population is aging and that cancer is more common in people as they get older, that progress is even more impressive.
Yet we still have a long way to go. I do not think we're going to find a single cure for all cancers. This is really -- I think if you want to use RAGBRAI as an analogy -- it is a process that we just have to keep plugging away at. We're not going to cure cancer with one spin of the pedal. We have to keep pushing at it and keep pushing at it and eventually we'll get there.
I invite people to come out and show their support for what we're doing. We'll be happy to answer questions, talk to them about the fight against cancer and the research that's going on in our state, talk to them about resources that are available, talk to them about cancer prevention and early detection. We just ask people to get involved. |
