I have spent the last 2 years being a beneficiary of decades of cancer research.  Now I would like to support future research so that advancements can continue and we continue to make great strides toward ultimately eliminating this terrible disease.

In late November 2018, a few years of curious ailments and odd feelings came to a head, and after a few surgical biopsies I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.  I underwent 6 months of chemotherapy and was declared in remission in June 2019.  Unfortunately this was short lived and by September the cancer had returned.  In October I underwent a more intensive inpatient chemotherapy regime, and in December I had 7 straight days of hardcore chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant just before Christmas, a necessary step needed to survive the hardcore chemotherapy.  This was followed by 3 weeks of radiation treatment and 6 months of a new immunotherapy drug designed to train my body to fight the cancer should it try to return.

If that sounds like a lot... well, it was.  But honestly it was not as bad as it sounds.  And it's WAY better than cancer.  Modern medicine is truly a miracle.

In December I could barely get out of bed, could not eat, did not have a hair on my entire body, and struggled to find the strength to stand long enough to shower.  At one point I had to wake up every 8 hours to self-inject antibiotics into one of three tubes implanted into my chest, to help my body fight off infections since my immune system had been rendered useless by all the chemotherapy.  Miraculously, and thanks to my doctors and nurses and the preciseness of the therapies, my strength started to return in late January.

I did some pushups.  I did some yoga.  I didn't faint.  Much.  Once I started moving again, the gains came faster;  I got on the bike February 1 and rode outside.  Nothing bad happened.  By late March I had some hair back on my head, the weather had warmed up and everything was looking great.  I decided to set a goal.

There is a small, boutique-like event in Colorado every year called "The Octopus".  

  http://www.vailboulderoctopus.com/

It's basically a very long, very difficult bike ride that involves about 100 miles of riding, while summiting 8 mountains over the course of a day (hence the name).  Only about 15-20 people participate so it seemed tailor-made for the Covid environment.  And yes, having a compromised immune system during a pandemic is every bit as cool as it sounds :).

It was a lofty goal to consider such a thing only 9 months removed from the hellscape that was December, but with not much else to do but train it started looking more and more possible as time went on.  Then, my fears were confirmed when the event organizer cancelled the event due to Covid.  Undeterred, I reached out to Scott, the event organizer, and asked his advice on how I could pull this off solo.  Scott is a lovely guy and took the time to call me and coach me on how this could be done (safely, don't worry Mom).  I have a plan and I intend to make the attempt on September 12, 2020.

I may succeed, I may fail, but in the process I hope to raise some money for cancer research, so that those who follow me can benefit the way I have.  The charity I have chosen is The V Foundation, a highly rated cancer research charity and an organization I supported even before I got cancer myself.  I appreciate in advance any generosity, and I commit to giving it all I have on September 12, hoping to complete the comeback.

Thank you!

Brian