Cancer treatment and the technology and pharmacology that fosters it has come a long way over the decades. But cancer patients, especially those who are elderly or disabled, can\u2019t always get to their appointments on their own.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the technology in the world doesn\u2019t help if someone can\u2019t get to their doctor,\u201d said Rotarian Jeff Molby, 45, of Caro, Mich.<\/p>\n
Molby\u2019s father caught his colon cancer at a very early stage, \u201cand the surgery went so well, I really took it for granted,\u201d Molby told members of the Turtle Creek Rotary Club at their May 29 meeting in Monroeville.<\/p>\n
Over the next few years, Molby met several families who were not so fortunate, whose loved ones had gotten a sudden diagnosis of aggressive cancer or who didn\u2019t take the time for regular check-ups and missed the chance his father had gotten.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a big part of the reason why Molby is two-and-a-half years into a three-year cycling trip, biking tens of thousands of miles as he literally spells out the one-word sentence \u201cHelp!\u201d across the United States, in an effort to draw attention \u2014 and more volunteers \u2014 to the American Cancer Society\u2019s Road<\/a> to <\/a>Recovery<\/a> program.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The program is simple: Volunteers sign up to receive notifications when a person in their area needs a ride to the doctor\u2019s office or another medical facility. If they\u2019re available, they provide the ride.<\/p>\n \u201cThese (cancer) treatments are often very regimented,\u201d Molby said. \u201cSo if someone isn\u2019t able to stick to the schedule, the doctor will make a \u2018Plan B,\u2019 but it will never be as good as \u2018Plan A.\u2019 So anything we can do to keep people on that primary course of medicine is truly lifesaving work.\u201d<\/p>\n Molby started his cycling journey in October 2023, high-tailing it as quickly as he could out of his home state of Michigan so he could get south before winter weather set in.<\/p>\n Molby admits he embarked on the trip with more excitement than preparation. <\/p>\n His first bike \u2014 \u201cOne cyclist looked at it and said quietly, \u2018That\u2019s a \u2026 that\u2019s a bold choice, Jeff,\u201d he said \u2014 lasted three months and got him as far as Florida, where it found the end of its useful life.<\/p>\n \u201cThis trip has ruined three bikes so far,\u201d he said with a laugh.<\/p>\n The trip isn\u2019t continuous. Molby takes three to four weeks off every few months to return home to his family. His goal on the road is to make between 40 and 50 miles of progress each day. Depending on where he\u2019s at in the country, that goal is at the mercy of the weather.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been times in the Midwest where I\u2019ve had to keep an eye on tornado watches and make sure I know where nearby shelter is,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He plots his trips in order to spend winters down south, using the past three to loop through Florida, Texas and Southern California. His bike is loaded with supplies, including a tent \u2014 \u201cIt\u2019s about the size of a coffin\u201d \u2014 where he sleeps about 80% of the time. On May 29 when he spoke to the Rotary, a Rotarian was hosting him for the night.<\/p>\n Part of the trip also included forming the nonprofit Chemo Riders, which he uses to document his travels, raise awareness and hopefully boost Road to Recovery\u2019s volunteer numbers.<\/p>\n \u201cNever think that something simple like driving a person to the doctor isn\u2019t important volunteer work,\u201d Molby said. \u201cWhen I was in Pensacola, Fla., I met a man who would never go around bragging about doing it. But he\u2019d been doing it for 10 years and he was about to give his 503rd ride. And I know there are people out there whose lives were saved because Buzz Windham gave them a ride.\u201d<\/p>\n He said the Road to Recovery program is one of the most flexible and rewarding opportunities he has found to volunteer.<\/p>\n \u201cI bet there are a few people in this room who can provide a few rides each month,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Molby had traveled 20,437 miles when he arrived in the Pittsburgh area. After a week here, he will head north to Buffalo, N.Y., and will wrap up his trip this October in Raleigh, N.C., on the third anniversary of its start.<\/p>\n He said being a Rotarian also was part of what inspired his journey.<\/p>\n \u201cThat four-way test we have \u2014 Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? \u2014 those are the values I lean on when I get up some mornings and just don\u2019t feel like biking 40 miles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n To learn more about Molby\u2019s journey, visit chemoriders.org<\/a>. To volunteer for the Road to Recovery program, visit cancer.org<\/a> and enter Road to Recovery<\/a> in the search box. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cancer treatment and the technology and pharmacology that fosters it has come a long way over the decades.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702764,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,82],"class_list":["post-702763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-cycling","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702763","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=702763"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702763\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702764"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702763"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702763"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702763"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}