Pedal the Cause

On Sunday September 21st I am going to participate in a 21-mile bike ride to help generate funds specifically for Barnes-Jewish-Children's Hospital and Siteman Cancer Center.

Your small donation of $10 or $20 can help — it may not seem like much but every couple of bucks adds up.  100% of the donations go to BJC and Siteman center — these donations help them so that they can be there to help you and your family — if needed (but hopefully not).

I've done this bike ride before when I worked at KnowledgeLake back in 2017, but this time it's personal. Last December I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer: Paraganglioma. 

Paraganglioma is a rare neuroendocrine tumor. It's a slow growing form of cancer that has been with me for years, maybe a decade.  It formed in my abdomen near my left kidney and it had metastasized into my lower back and had grown to 11cm — about the size of a softball. It shut down the function of my left kidney and wrapped itself around the aorta — rendering it inoperable. 

On December 5th 2024, I went to the ER at BJC because the tumor had damaged the left kidney and it was bleeding. At that time, my family and I didn't understand why — we didn't know I had cancer.  The doctors quickly recognized the symptoms and brought in specialists from Siteman Center to confirm.  The news was devastating, but I understood that I was now part of team of people working diligently to help save my life. 

My situation was complicated. The tumor was large and severely impacting the kidney and I was bleeding non stop.  And surgery was far too risky. The doctors and nurses at Siteman center were heroes back in December. With their skills and with medical science and technology, they were able to use radiation to stop the bleeding. I left the hospital on New Year's Eve.

In January 2025, my doctors Dr. Trikalinos and Dr. Waters at Siteman came up with an ingenious treatment plan that used specialized nuclear radiation treatment which identifies and isolates the delivery of the medicine based on the genetic characteristics of the tumor. This means the lethal dose of medicine is delivered directly to the cancer cells to kill them — and yet at the same time, avoids harming any of the body's healthy cells. This is an amazing combination of human intelligence, medical science and technology. Dr. Trikalinos and Dr. Waters are my heroes.

Well, actually, all the Doctors and Nurses at BJC and Siteman Center are heroes -- and we owe them an enormous amount of gratitude. 

So, after 8 months of this nuclear radiation treatment, the size of the tumor has been reduced by 47% — which is amazing.  If not for the team of doctors and nurses, the science and the technology, I would be in a completely different situation.  We all know how chemotherapy negatively impacts the body, but because of the strategy designed by my team, I have been able to avoid this type of treatment -- and my quality of life has benefited.

And so, today, I try to stay as active as possible. This includes riding bikes.

The people of St. Louis has been given a great gift by having BJC, Siteman Cancer Center and Washington University school of medicine, all right there in our city.

Whatever you can contribute it is very much appreciated. 

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.