Tag: ride

When we started as a Team of 8 in 2018, it was a few years after my sister in law underwent treatments for Breast Cancer and my mom started her battle with Lung Cancer. In the summer of 2014 we lost my uncle Ralph to Throat Cancer. In October of 2015, on the same day that we learned of my wife’s Breast Cancer diagnosis, my mom went to the hospital with what would be the spread of her cancer to her brain. Shortly after that, with my mom and my wife dealing with their surgeries and treatments, my dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. In the spring of 2017 my friend Susan Tanner lost her valiant battle with metastatic Breast Cancer. Needless to say, it was a rough few years. With all that had happened we felt the need to do something to not only celebrate those that were still with us and honor those that we lost, but also to do something to help the cause in some way. The Ride For Roswell was the perfect opportunity and we have been riding and growing as a team ever since! This year we will have 15 riders from Buffalo, Olean, Rochester and Vermont!

The Ride for Roswell is very meaningful to my family. We’ve had many experiences with cancer through numerous family members. Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters, Cousins, Grandchildren, young and old, so many have experienced cancer in one way or another. The team, Andrea’s Army, is named after my sister Andrea who battled Stage 4 Kidney cancer at the young age of 28 years old. She put up an extremely courageous battle against cancer and never gave up. We like to raise money and ride every year in her memory to continue her fight against cancer. Her generous and joyous spirit lives on in us and in this event.

For Whitney Ann Henry, forming a Ride for Roswell team marked the realization of a goal she set nearly two years ago. Along with her coworker and team co-captain, Josie Raphaelito, Team Skoden came to fruition. Skoden is a slang term used in the Indigenous community to mean “Let’s go then!” or “Let’s get after it.” The name aligns perfectly with their goal to support their department: the Center for Indigenous Cancer Research (CICR) at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Whitney Ann, the Indigenous patient navigation coordinator, and Josie, a research project coordinator, are both passionate about furthering the CICR’s mission of reducing cancer’s impact on Indigenous communities. They are also committed to bringing awareness within the Indigenous community of the resources available through the CICR.