July 25, 2016, Filed Under: 2016, cancer, texas4000Letter to Texas 4000 Rider: Geena May Photo of Lady Bird Lake in Austin by Dylan Beam Dear Geena, As I read your profile on the Texas 4000 page, I found you to be very relatable. I never lived outside of Oregon until I decided to go to Ohio State to study Biological Engineering, but it didn’t take me long to start bleeding Scarlet and Grey. My girlfriend likes to tease me about how I’m more of an Ohioan than she is despite the fact that I haven’t even lived there for a full year and she has lived there her whole life. I grew up loving the outdoors and I know how beautiful the Sierras are. Seeing how much I could relate to you made it even harder to read about how cancer has affected your life. Your drive to ride in honor of your cousin and become an engineer to honor your high school teacher inspires me. Cancer affects us all, and we need strong people like you to lead the fight. Stay strong, and I hope you enjoy the rest of your ride. Sincerely, Dylan Beam, The Ohio State University Geena May is a UT Austin sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering, and is currently riding to Alaska on the Texas 4000 Sierra 2016 team!
July 12, 2016, Filed Under: 2016, cancer, texas4000Letter to Texas4000 Rider: Matthew Schneider Dear Matthew, Hey Matthew, my name is Dylan Beam and I just finished my first year studying Biological Engineering at The Ohio State University. I am in complete awe of what you guys are all accomplishing this summer. I am from Oregon, so I fly about 2500 miles pretty regularly to and from college and I couldn’t imagine riding a bike that far, much less the 4000 miles that you are all biking this summer. Everyone’s life has been touched by cancer at one point or another–mine was touched when a close family friend was diagnosed with breast cancer–but I could not imagine what it is like to have one of my parents afflicted by this horrific ailment. It’s inspiring to me that you have taken on the journey to raise funds and awareness for cancer by participating in Texas 4000. Dylan, 2016 Summer Scholar I have been interested in research because of the intellectual stimulation it provides, but through this connection to Texas 4000 I have gained better insight on the impact that research can have on individuals. I remember back to how when I was a kid and everyone wanted to be a hero. This program has helped me to understand that heroes come in all types. You are a hero, just like every other member of Texas 4000 and everyone else dedicating their life to fighting cancer. I’ve lived my whole life on the west coast between visiting my family in the San Francisco Bay Area and living in Oregon. It’s a beautiful area and I hope you enjoy your journey through the west. Sincerely, Dylan Beam, The Ohio State University Matthew Schneider is a UT Austin student studying Computer Science and currently riding to Alaska on the Sierra team.
July 8, 2016, Filed Under: 2016, cancer, reflections, research, texas4000Engaging the Fight Against Cancer with Texas 4000 “Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact.” –June Goodfield. Before this summer, I viewed the fight against cancer solely as a scientific race to find a cure. As I began my participation in the BME CUReS REU program, my perspective of the fight against cancer has been changed and expanded. Through my research in the lab and reading of Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, I have come to realize that the complexity of the nature of cancer as a disease and its variance among its victims prevents there ever being one single drug that provides a universal cure. Yet, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating the disease of cancer, it is going to take several different effective treatments. In consequence, winning the war against cancer requires an entire army – a community. A community of researchers to share findings to better the understanding of cancer as a disease and to find more effective treatments. A community of doctors to communicate the needs of patients and the successes and failures of treatments. A community of people to raise the public’s awareness and funds for the fight against cancer. In a community, there are several different groups of individuals who hold various roles, all of which are vital to the functionality of the community. Just as in any functioning body, one part of a community cannot thrive without the other. In the cancer community, doctors and researchers could not collaborate and create effective treatments without funding. It is the individuals of the cancer community that dedicate their time to share their personal encounters with cancer, to host fundraising events, to campaign for government funding, to raise public awareness who come up with the funding. Thus, these are the individuals who fuel the fight against cancer. A great example of such individuals are those who make the Texas4000 happen. These individuals dedicate two years of their life to raise $4,500 total funds for cancer research and to train physically, emotionally, and mentally to ride a bike 4000 miles. The strenuous 4000 mile bike ride from Austin to Anchorage mirrors the exhausting fight cancer patients face every day. While some may ride in memory of someone who encountered cancer as others ride because they personally are a survivors, all ride for the sole purpose of raising hope and public knowledge in the fight against cancer. Without the funds raised by the Texas4000 riders, research programs like BME CUReS would not be happening. Every day in the labs, I use numerous pipet tips, reagents, cell lines, and fancy other equipment – all to better understand cancer. Yet, all these tools wear high price tags. Due to dedication of the Texas4000 individuals, this summer, I can contribute research that will bring the cancer community one step closer to fighting off cancer. -Rachel Hegab, Louisiana Tech University On Friday, July 1, four Texas 4000 riders from the 2017 visited the REU weekly seminar to talk about why they ride: Marc, Margo, Luis, and Valerie. We also made cards for the 2016 Sierra team and will be sending them to the Portland Day 45 mail drop! BME CUReS Cancer Summer Scholars and 2017 Texas 4000 Riders on July 1, 2016 Cards for 2016 Sierra Team!
