In honor of Kurt Carr and In memory of Mark Alvig

In Honor of Kurt Carr 
In Memory of Mark Alvig 

 Week Two complete: 640 miles in.  On to Ohio today, which will be the 5th state already.  Scott will be picking up the Adventure Cycle Map Northern Tier  route which takes him along Lake Eerie.   We continue to boon dock, use Harvest Hosts, state parks, county parks, rv parks and whatever else works on short notice,  as places to stay.  It's always an adventure.  My favorite so far is the beauty of the sandy beach of Lake Michigan.  Scott got a kick out of sharing the road yesterday with horse drawn carriages in Menonnite country.   Scott is staying pretty predictable to the route and calendar he planned, so we are starting to build some confidence that the schedule will work of about 300 miles a week, two days off per week.  I am working on posting a calendar with more detail on the route. 

One of the reasons we want to build awareness about getting early detection is due to how much more treatable prostate cancer is in early stages.   Even aggressive prostate cancer is more survivable in early stages.   This Week Scott is riding for two men,  in honor of Kurt Carr a prostate cancer survivor, and in memory of Mark Alvig.  

Kurt was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer during covid.  He experienced the trauma of the cancer diagnosis compounded by treatment complications due to covid, including delays and  cancellations. He evaluated both options of radiation and surgery.  The medical system during covid made an already tough, emotional challenge all that more difficult.   He eventually had a radical prostatectomy and is now maintaining an undetectable PSA.   Mark was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer that had already metastasized throughout his body.  Mark lost his hard fought battle to advanced aggressive prostate cancer.  He was 57.  

Kurt has challenged others to share the mission, and to make a pledge.   He has led that way with  generously pledging $1 per mile.    www.milesformoney.org

A few statistics to know: 

    One in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in his lifetime 

    The biggest risk factors are age, African ancestry and family history 

    Early detection saves lives!   (GO GET TESTED!) 

    Prostate cancer is the second leading cancer death in men. 

 Thank you Zero Prostate cancer who maintains statistics www.zerocancer.org.  How can you help? Share our mission. Talk to others about early detection.   www.milesformoney.org  I also do frequent "talks with Scott"  before and after his  bike rides on Facebook  Live.  ( Katy Bloomquist Freitag). 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Katy's miles for money day: race report on Ironman Cozumel 2024

Image
  I had my "miles for money" day on November 24, 2024, at Ironman Cozumel. (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, 26.2-mile run).  My past ironman training and competitions were helpful to Scott in preparing for his perimeter ride just as my chasing Scott around on the bike this summer, as he got ready for his 100-mile gran fondo bike race, was helpful to me! First and foremost, congratulations to Scott on a great 100-mile gran fondo bike race- he finished in 4:35, on a very rainy windy day to finish 11/51 in his age group and complete his very first 100-mile bike race!  So very proud of him - I took loads of Facebook live videos of him flying by.     This was my 5 th  ironman and my 3d ironman Cozumel.   My last IM Cozumel was in 2022. I had finished in 12:53 in 2022, had a great race in the 55-59 age group. But a week after the race I had emergency surgery in Mexico to save my life, ended up having 3 ½ feet of dead intestine taken out. (S...
Read more

The celebration is less than two weeks away! Men’s health month, Cancer Survivor Day and my reflection on the journey

Image
How appropriate that June, men’s health month, is when this epic journey will conclude! Scott is over 9600 miles, and we are in Medora, North Dakota.  We have less than two weeks to go! Scott did a video yesterday during our hike in the Badlands at Theodore Roosevelt National Park to remind men to get their physicals, and to get their PSA checked.  Today is also cancer survivor day, a day to be grateful for the each day that Scott beats this disease.  I too want to remind women to encourage the men in their life to get their physicals (and their own preventive physicals.) I pestered Scott about getting a checkup as I said "it was the thing to do" in our early 50’s. He felt great, he was strength training, playing hockey, softball, and had absolutely no symptoms of any ill health. We had only been married a few months when he was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer.   Scott had an elevated PSA detected from a simple blood test, and a biopsy confirmed the aggre...
Read more

Our last week! Scott is just shy of 10,000 miles

Image
  Our last week! Scott is just shy of 10,000 miles – he will finish the journey on Saturday into Itasca, somewhere between 10,000 and 11,000 miles. Very few people bike that many miles in one year. As an example, the Tour de France male riders cycle about 14,000 miles in a year, the women ride about 11,000. An “avid” cyclist rides about 3,000 -  5,000 in a year, and usually on roads or trails near home that they are accustom to. Scott is completing this ride while undergoing treatment too, for stage 4 prostate cancer. He has overcome numerous obstacles along the way. The physical and mental feat is something that is truly special and has inspired many to be more active, even with cancer, or other challenges ( with your doctor's ok!)  We were super excited to have Emmy award winning ESPN crew come out to film and interview Scott this week. Pictured above, Jeremy Schaap (television reporter, 11 time Emmy award winner for his work on E:60, SportsCenter and Outside the Line...
Read more