The MSU Gran Fondo is a bike ride that raises money in support and awareness for skin cancer. This is my 4th time raising money for the Gran Fondo and my 3rd ride. I am excited to conquer the 40 mile route.

The most popular question for the fondo is, “Who do you fondo for?” or, “Why do you ride?” I ride to raise money and awareness. I also ride in honor of one of my good friends, Jerry, who passed away from skin cancer. I also know many other people who have had skin cancer spots remove. Once I started making this ride my own I ride for more than just skin cancer. I even decided to raise awareness and connect with those who are impacted by cancer by making an instagram account, @cancerknowledge. I ride for a friend who overcame breast cancer 6 years ago, for Hazel and other kiddos battling childhood cancer, and especially for my friend’s mom, Candace Bennink. Candace has stage 4 lung cancer and has never smoked once. She was diagnosed October of 2016 and was expected to live 6 months. It has been over 2 years and she is still currently fighting lung cancer. She has made great improvement and recently went to Texas for some cutting edge radiation treatments. Seeing how cancer impacts their family, children, and overall lifestyle has encouraged me and pushed me to enjoy every moment and to be kind to myself and others. We never know when our world might change.

Last year I started the year off training and I registered for the MSU Gran Fondo. I was discouraged when I was having ongoing pain and told I shouldn’t bike anymore. We finally figured out the source of my pain and I had hip surgery November 28. I am excited to train for the Gran Fondo on my road to recovery.

A new study just released has said her specific type of cancer if treated properly like expectancy is over 6 years instead of 8 months for any type of lung cancer. There have been many discoveries made in many different types of cancer.  Because of the money raised there have been lots of ground breaking discoveries in the skin cancer world as well. A new melanoma drug will reduce the spread of melanoma by 90 percent. The medical world is surely advancing.

The last two years I have raised about $1,000 each year, over $2,000 total. This is only a small amount of the thousands of dollars raised for the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Gran Fondo. All money raised goes directly to supporting skin cancer awareness, prevention and research.

On Saturday, June 22, 2019. The streets of West Michigan from downtown to the lakeshore will be paved with good intentions. We are getting our wheels turning for skin cancer. The MSU Gran Fondo is more than a ride. It’s an opportunity to make a difference. Please help me reach my goal of $1,500 while supporting a great cause, [skin] cancer.

Thank You!!