Obliteride: cycling for cancer research
Originally published Saturday, August 10, 2013 at 7:06 PM
ERIKA SCHULTZ / The Seattle Times
ERIKA SCHULTZ / The Seattle Times
Walter Harp considers life since 2008 his "bonus years." That year, he was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a type of blood and bone-marrow cancer. He went through chemotherapy, then a bone-marrow transplant. He had another round of chemotherapy when he relapsed a year ago this month, but is now in remission.
Without the research done at institutes like Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Harps says, he wouldn't be alive today.
Harp was one of about 700 bicyclists who rode Saturday in the first-ever Obliteride, an event that connects cancer survivors, cyclists and community members to raise money for cancer research at the Hutchinson Center. The fundraising bike rides this weekend start and finish at Magnuson Park and go through 25 Puget Sound communities.
On Saturday, participants and organizers said Obliteride was a way to raise funds for cancer research while also raising awareness and allowing those affected by cancer to feel like they are making a difference.
"To me this was a no-brainer," said Harp, 42, of Mercer Island. "If I had just $1 to give, it would be for cancer research."
Obliteride's fundraising goal is $2.5 million. By Saturday morning, participants had raised more than $1.4 million, according to executive director Amy Lavin.
Cancer reaches everyone in some way, Lavin said. According to the American Cancer Society, one in two men and one in three women in the U.S. will develop some type of cancer within their lifetime.
"Cancer affects everybody," Lavin said. "People like to have a place to apply their frustration while feeling like they are contributing to a cure."
Obliteride routes ranged from 25 miles to a two-day 180-mile course. Harp completed the 25-mile route, which had a fundraising minimum of $1,000. He raised $8,000. All proceeds raised benefit cancer research at the Hutchinson Center.
"I'm drawn to fundraising where I know the money is going to go straight to the people it's supposed to go to," Harp said.
Jai Anderson, whose daughter Allistaire, 3, has Acute Myeloid Leukemia, said Obliteride was a way to show her "immense gratitude" for the care her daughter has been given through the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. The SCCA connects doctors from The Hutchinson Center, UW Medicine and Seattle Children's.
When Allistaire was diagnosed in 2011, Anderson asked a doctor what would have happened if they lived in another part of the world or another time period. The doctor told her Allistaire would have been dead within days. The treatments that resulted from research in Seattle have sustained Allistaire's life, she said.
"Everything that has been given to us has been because of research," Anderson said. "You don't know when it's going to be your turn to need it."
Anderson raised $11,000 for her 25-mile ride. Her $1,000 minimum requirement was raised within five hours. People were eager to donate, she said.
"With cancer, you feel totally powerless," Anderson said. "I'm thankful to be a part of this, to do my own little part to help."
Paige Cornwell: 206-464-2517 or pcornwell@seattletimes.com