By Carol Fisher-Linn
Summer is waning. It’s time to make the most of the rest of this summer. How about taking a week-long bike trip? Wouldn’t it be great to have catered meals including breakfast and dinner and catered lunches at rest stops? All the snacks and beverages you need; a tent city with personal tent with air mattress and camp chair, setup and take down done for you; towel service, restrooms/portable restrooms, and shower truck. You’d also have access to a medical team, athletic trainer, bike checks and repairs, and, oh yes, licensed massage therapists available for hire. Sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Did I tell you it’s a 500-mile, 7-day trip from New York City to Niagara Falls? It’s too late for this year’s Empire State Ride for cancer (which took place July 24-30 with all those perks), but it’s the right time to sign up for 2023. The summer bike trip I suggested could kick-off your training. Do it alone, start your own team, or join the fun with the group from Holiday Valley. It will be year number 4 for them, on top of Team Holiday Valley participating in the Ride for Roswell for ten years.
So, why would they do a grueling 500-mile ride, especially when considering the heat, we’ve experienced in July? When one considers the people at Holiday Valley, it’s easy to imagine them ready for any fun – that’s what Holiday Valley is all about, after all. But, why a challenging 500-mile bike ride in the middle of summer? With the number of individuals Holiday Valley hires, they have had their share of people effected by cancer, either employees or family members. Believing it to be a worthwhile cause, they naturally formed a team. This year, it turned out that Jane Eshbaugh had a personal reason for doing the ride since she was diagnosed in April with pancreatic cancer. Doing the ride was her way of fighting back and helping herself while helping others. She and her husband, Dennis tag-teamed using their vehicle – one driving, one biking. Jane stubbornly completed almost 350 miles this way. She related that some of the finest moments came in the evenings when the campers sat around and shared why they were doing the ride. According to Jane, those poignant stories made everyone more determined to finish the race. Team 2022 consisted of Jane and Dennis Eshbaugh, Bonnie Koschir, Debbie Stein, Charley Bailey, and Sean Crotty. They were joined by three women from Buffalo: sisters Alicia and Ashlie Kohlhagen and their sister-in-law, Ashley Kohlhagen. Congratulations to all.
240 individuals from all over the area were involved with the Ride this year. Jane Eshbaugh was # 7 in top fundraisers ($21,978) for 2022. Their team, Team Holiday Valley was #5 with donations amounting to $64,412. To date, the total ride itself produced donations of over $1,500,000.
Founded by Roswell Park in 1898, the center was the first in the United States to specifically focus on cancer research. “Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is among a select group to hold the National Cancer Institute designation of “Comprehensive Cancer Center” and New York State’s only one outside of New York City. This designation means that a cancer center’s combined research, treatment and educational programs have weathered extensive peer review, met rigorous national standards, and made fundamental contributions to reducing the cancer burden.” (Roswellpark.org.)
The drive at Roswell is to provide personalized approaches using both clinical trials and immunotherapy which allow for personalized treatment plans. These plans target cancer without harming healthy cells, have potentially reduced side effects (e.g., nausea, vomiting, hair loss) and could offer the possibility for long-term remissions. For more information about the comprehensive care and services available at Roswell Park, please see roswellpark.org/why-roswell.
Giving praises for her care at Roswell, Jane spoke of being up on the third floor recently, listening to a man play the piano. As he played, someone stepped up and rang the bell, announcing a final treatment. It made her reflect on the HOPE patients receive at Roswell along with first class care. Kudos to Team Holiday Valley and all donors who supported them in this endeavor. You can still donate for the rider of your choice at https://empirestateride.com/ and click on the DONATE tab upper right of your screen.