Pedal the Cause

My name is Damian Musello, and this year I’m honored to ride in Pedal the Cause—a powerful event that transforms every mile into meaningful support for cancer research and treatment.

Health and wellness have long been cornerstones of my identity. Fitness isn’t just a routine for me—it’s a lifeline. It’s how I’ve coped with trauma, found purpose through hardship, and channeled years of effort into becoming someone who doesn’t give up—on myself, on others, or on the possibility of healing. To now use that strength and discipline for something bigger than myself—to fight for those facing cancer—is a privilege I don’t take lightly.

Like so many of us, cancer has touched my life in deep and lasting ways.

I ride in memory of my great aunt, Catherine Candida Cantalupo, who died at just 36 years old of metastatic breast cancer. I ride for my grandfather, Christopher Musello Sr., who passed away from leukemia at age 78. I ride for my grandmother, Agnes Moffitt, who died of lung cancer at 76. I ride for my great-grandfather, Eleazer Deming Williams, who also died of lung cancer at age 78, having spent years tending a lemon grove warmed by smudge pots. And I ride for his son, my great-uncle, Eleazer Deming Williams Jr., who died at around age 80 from glioastrocytoma.

And I ride for Nicole’s family too—who have lost at least four direct relatives to cancer. Each of them is a name, a memory, a love that lives on—and this ride is one small way I honor them all.

Cancer doesn’t care who you are. But we do.

We ride for those we’ve lost.

We ride for those still fighting.

We ride for the hope that, together, we can make a difference.

If you’re able, please consider donating to support this cause. Every dollar brings us one pedal stroke closer to a world without cancer.

With gratitude and grit,

Damian

Pedal the Cause is hope, community and the region’s most impactful movement to end cancer. I am proud to participate and to play a part in funding groundbreaking research at our local, top-ranked institutions that is changing the way we treat and cure cancers.

Every penny of every dollar donated funds innovative cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children's Hospital, driving new treatments, clinical trials and discoveries that are improving patient outcomes. CLICK HERE to learn more about the impact of the over $51 million donated by Pedal the Cause since 2010.

Please support my efforts to create a world without cancer with a donation of any size to my fundraiser by clicking the DONATE button on my profile page.