Statement

This is my one and only statement regarding the events of this week. I will stand, as I have always stood, with Lance Armstrong in his global fight against cancer. This man, and the foundation he began and built, has stood by me and my family, when I needed support the most. He instilled an amazing devotion in the employees, volunteers of Livestrong and his Livestrong Leaders. While his title may have formally changed, to me, and many others, he will always be "Boss" in our initiatives to support and raise awareness for cancer survivorship.

I have a second chance. Cancer isn't always as kind.

Some of you know that I had a deadline the other day to meet a $5,000 goal for my LIVESTRONG fundraising. I didn't make that goal. As it prohibited me from being able to fulfill a promise to my daughter, I was pretty disappointed.

On a personal level, and please do not take this the wrong way or as me being ungrateful, it was most disappointing to have worked so hard this year, while fighting cancer actively, running 2 major events that beat last year's numbers, and to have still fallen short. Previous "angel" donors weren't able to give me a boost this year, and I'd made the mistake of thinking that one of my events would have been bigger than expected, and I didn't run with a couple of smaller events.

In the past, I would have beat myself up into a pulp, cried my eyes out, and second-guessed every decision I made that caused me to fail. I'd have then turned my self-loathing into anger and lashed out at every single individual like a petulant child.

You do realize that when I say, "In the past," I'm referring to just over one year ago, right?

Don't I look like myself?

That bratty single child in me is, at this moment, lying face down in her bed, kicking and screaming, tearing at pillows, refusing to come down for dinner and making the lives of all around her a living hell. But she's a much smaller part of me.

Well, maybe not. This goal was a big one. I was resigned to the fact that $25,000 was going to be out of reach and gave in to the $15,000 goal. As time ticked away, and the donations just didn't come in the way that they did last year, I started to panic, but LIVESTRONG set a special incentive at the $5,000 mark that made it "ok" to "settle" for $5,000.

I assumed, making an ass out of you and me, that the money would just come in effortlessly. Until the deadline passed, and I was still short.

Unlike cancer, which rarely gives second chances, LIVESTRONG gave an extension to those of us reaching for the $5,000 mark.

I now have until 5pm Friday, October 5, 2012, to finish raising $5,000.

As of right now, I am $1,500 away from the mark. That seems like a lot, doesn't it? But, here's the way I see it.

I have 1,716 Facebook friends. I have 678 connections on LinkedIn. I have 1,212 Twitter followers. Of course, there is quite a bit of crossover, so let's figure that there are 500 "real" people all told.

If I do the math correctly, if all of the 500 "real" people I presume are, in fact, "real," that means each would only have to donate $3 in the next 24 hours in order to meet the goal.

That's it. It's totally do-able.

So, now, I just have to figure out how to reach those 500 "real" people.

Are you one of the "real" ones?

Why do I want you to support LIVESTRONG? Read on...

First, the kind folks at the Journal News ran an article as a follow up to our October Breast Cancer Awareness program last year... It's a really lovely read - thank you.

This weekend, my friend from Boston, Lynda Beaulieu-Fresolo, came down. After a late start, we hit the road in Norwalk and rode a little over 22 miles. A twitchy left ankle and a left knee that wasn't feeling great prompted me to suggest that we turn back instead of continuing forward, reaching 40 miles. We averaged just under 11.5 mph - my goal was 12-15 mph.

There was a time I'd beat myself up about it, but Lynda told me to just keep working, and LIVESTRONG has taught me that no fight, nor victory, should be considered too small to be a success. My tush hurts, my legs are stiff, and I know I have a lot of work ahead of me.

But I'm doing it.

I wish I could say my fundraising this year was just as successful. I've scaled back my goal from $25,000 to $15,000, and now I'm hoping to hit $5,000.

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I need to meet that $5,000 goal today so I can be a part of the LIVESTRONG 15th Anniversary Celebration Gala in Austin, TX. It's the least amount I've raised for LIVESTRONG since I started fundraising. It's just been one of those years.

I'm more than halfway there. I have a check en route that will help. But I'm still not going to make it with that check alone. I need your help.

By my account, if each of those that reads my blog today could donate $25, I'll meet the $5,000 goal today.  It only takes 2 minutes. But your donation wouldn't just help me with my goal, it will help thousands of people like me, my mom, my aunt, my friend and so many others fight and find the strength to keep looking forward.

Please consider donating today by clicking the link to my personal page below. The funds we raise together allow LIVESTRONG to give survivors the services, information and direct support they need to tackle cancer on their terms. And 100 percent of what you donate for the LIVESTRONG Austin Challenge will go directly to these vital efforts.

Thanks for your support.
LIVESTRONG,
Rica
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Why do I support LIVESTRONG? I like beer.

If you like beer, donate to LIVESTRONG right now.
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No, seriously, if you like beer, donate now.
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See, there's a secret we LIVESTRONG Leaders share with Lance, Doug and the crew at LIVESTRONG. You're not really funding cancer survivorship support. Your investing in a future bar.

I mean, the layout is there, with a dance area, a stage, a kitchen, and plenty of space for mingling. The location in Austin, TX is perfect. The artwork is on the walls and there is plenty of parking. It's perfectly accessible by train, too. And did I mention the outdoor dining and drinking area? Oktoberfest will rock.

Still think I'm kidding? I'm not.

There are only 2 things standing between us, today, and this bar.

1) It houses this pesky thing called the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
2) Cancer

Confused? Allow me to explain...

By definition, "We (LIVESTRONG) provide support to guide people through the cancer experience, bring them together to fight cancer—and work for a world in which our fight is no longer necessary."

"... A world in which our fight is no longer necessary."

Lance, Doug, and everyone who is employed by LIVESTRONG, to an extent, prays for the day they that all employees are given the option to accept a severance check and a pink slip or to take on new careers as bartenders, bus boys, waiters & waitresses and bouncers when the Lance Armstrong Foundation closes its doors and is converted into a bar because it will mean that cancer has been extinguished from the planet. The war will have been won. The only thing left for the folks who worked at the Foundation to do will be to find a new career and send themselves off with a brewski while Lance and his buddies turn LIVESTRONG Headquarters into the biggest, baddest bar Texas has ever seen.


So, if you hate cancer, donate to LIVESTRONG right now.
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If you like beer more, donate to LIVESTRONG right now.
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If you love Shiner Bock, donate to LIVESTRONG right now.
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If you love Guinness, donate to LIVESTRONG right now.
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If you like Michelob, Bud, Miller, or Rolling Rock, donate to LIVESTRONG right now.
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If microbrews like Fat Tire, Brooklyn Brewery, Dogfish Head, and He'brew, are your thing, then donate to LIVESTRONG right now.
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And, if you never, ever, ever,  want to hear me ask you to donate to LIVESTRONG right now, but you'd much rather hear me ask you out for a brew with the same frequency, donate to LIVESTRONG right now.
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Why do I support LIVESTRONG? For those whose time ran out

As much as I hate to admit it, I can hold a grudge.

March 1980. December 2009. February 2010. I could go on and on listing months and years marking the loss of loved ones and those I knew who died fighting cancer. Lance articulated this last year at the 2011 LIVESTRONG Challenge when he explained these fighters didn't "lose" their battles. They were still fighting. But their "time ran out."

That means there is still a battle to be fought, even after they are gone.

For me, my war was waged to take revenge on cancer for taking my Gramma away from me when I was only in 1st Grade. Cancer had previously taken my other grandmother years before I was born. But Gramma was the only living grandparent I had. I was closer to her than any other person on this planet. Cancer robbed me of her in a matter of months.

The fact that it swept up a string of loved ones, friends and family members of those I encountered like a tidal wave within my first year of becoming a LIVESTRONG Leader didn't help.

Another fact is that once time runs out for our loved ones, we feel incapacitated. What's next for us?

Of course, we remember our loved ones.

But my grandmother was a fighter. The odds she fought in her life were incredible. She was a tiny woman, but she had more strength than 10 football players, physically and emotionally, if she needed it. She astounded me with her brawn.

Whether their time ran out today or 25 years ago, we can still continue our loves ones' fights. We can ride in their honor. We can run in their honor. We can raise funds to give back to others who are fighting where they left off.

If I know my grandmother like I think I do, there is no question in my mind that if she were alive today, she would have walked the 5k ROCK the RIDE & RUN this year with me in Pound Ridge, holding my hand, with pride. She might have even ventured on her gold and white 3-speed and ridden with me a bit to get me back on the bike.

So, I walk, ride and do what I can with her spirit in my heart, hearing her voice in my head, and knowing that the fight she fought isn't over until no one has to lose their Gramma the way that I did ever again.

Please help me support my war, and consider donating in memory of your loved one whose time ran out, today. http://laf.convio.net/goto/RicaRocksAustin2012

Why do I support LIVESTRONG? Community

On Sunday, close to 100 people turned up at West Rock Ridge State Park, including racers and spectators, to participate in the ROCK the RIDGE benefiting LIVESTRONG Mountain Bike Race. Folks gathered from Maine to New York to New Jersey and everywhere in between. Of course, many may not have cared less what the cause was, it was merely the series finale of the New England Championship Series for the Eastern Fat Tire Association. But others turned out to show support.

During the racers' meeting, when I reminded folks of the cause and why it was so significant, as we, in EFTA, lost a beloved member to cancer a couple of years ago, there was a tangible shift in mood. Everyone was still excited, but there was a sense of intensity that seemed to hover in the air.

It's not the first time I've experienced that.

When I decided, long before I was diagnosed, that I was going to ride 200 miles to support LIVESTRONG a couple of years ago, I was more excited about the adventure than the cause. That is, until I learned of a couple of friends who were fighting cancer. Then, it hit me, when I found myself struggling, that I was doing this for something greater than me. And, as I rode, and I chit-chatted with other riders along the way in the New York City Century Tour, and told them why I was riding, their smiled turned serious - not angry, not sad, but intense, and we rode a little faster.

Online, on Twitter and Facebook, LIVESTRONG Leaders, registered Team LIVESTRONG members and others in the "community" form a support network. Again, before I was diagnosed, I merely mentioned that I was doing a ride for LIVESTRONG, and all of a sudden, there was a throng of survivors that were connecting with me. I joked that I felt in with the "in" crowd without having cancer. (Oh, the irony.)

But I'd found a community.

When I was diagnosed, I thanked my lucky stars I was already plugged into that community, though, there is no doubt in my mind, that had I come in off the street and asked for membership, I would have been welcomed with open arms. Why? Because I see it done. With everyone that says, "I need help - I have cancer," or, "My dad has cancer," or, "I just lost my cousin to cancer," a note of encouragement is sent by someone at LIVESTRONG, fellow leaders, etc.

So to, on Sunday, at the end of the race, there was a community - even though it was a one-day community, it was there.

There are rare instances in one life where, blindly, you are accepted into a group. And there is no time as important as during a battle with cancer when that is needed.

LIVESTRONG is a global community of caretakers, survivors, supporters and leaders.

To show your support for this community and the cause, please consider a donation to my LIVESTRONG Challenge account: HTTP://LAF.CONVIO.NET/GOTO/RICAROCKSAUSTIN2012

Why do I support LIVESTRONG? For hope

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade ... because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win" -- John F. Kennedy

When James Lipton asks celebrities of all types on "Inside the Actors Studio" Bernard Pivot's infamous question about what their favorite 4-letter word* is, we all laugh as we hear f-bombs being dropped, the s-word flung about, etc. But one day, I'd love to hear someone respond with the 4-letter word, "HOPE"

Tis but a foolish word, "HOPE." So simple. Simple to say, simple to spell, and simple to think about - that is, until hope is tested.

We all "hope" that our children will do well in school starting the first day they hop on the bus - and it's easy to hope that. But when a child is diagnosed with a learning disorder that prohibits an easy academic life, that hope becomes challenged.

So to, when we "hope" that our loved ones "have good day" when they leave for work or hope they "feel better" upon reporting that they have a cold, it rolls off the tongue without a second thought. And when we "hope for the best" for ourselves and others, we don't stop and wonder about any alternative to the "best."

That is, until there is an immediate challenge.

For those of us who have been diagnosed with cancer, even the most optimistic among us feel hope fade - even if it's just for a moment, it does. We can't help it. For those whose loved one is diagnosed, their hope may even falter even more - not only do they question hope for their own future, but they now worry about their loved one.

And, for those cancer fighters among us who have the dreaded determination that the cancer has come back, hope is tested once more, and sometimes in a far more brutal way. You see, when you've fought it once, and you've made it through the "other side," however that's defined in anyone's particular case - whether it be a no evidence of disease declaration from the doctor, finishing chemotherapy, recovering from surgery, etc - we instinctively begin the (sometimes grueling) process of rebuilding our hopes, possibly developing new and greater hope. Imagine, if you will, just coming out of that process, just starting to bathe in the light at the end of the tunnel only to learn that you have to fight that fight again.

For first time fighters, like I was, it's terrifying. For those fighting repeatedly, I can't imagine.

So, when hope is tested, sometimes our immediate loved ones can fill in, sometimes they can't. But LIVESTRONG can. LIVESTRONG helps us remember that there are things to look forward to - whether it be a LIVESTRONG Challenge, a program like First Descents, financial assistance, or helping to find the right program, medical facility or doctor - LIVESTRONG can be that beacon when others feel their hope tested.

Today, for example, was a wonderful case of why a foundation like LIVESTRONG's existence helps foster hope.

On the one hand, I have a friend who has a unique form of cancer. It's been very hard on them, and they are facing a new barrage of treatments - none of which are easy by any account. While several of us have been struggling to figure out what we can do to help and support this friend, contacts at LIVESTRONG coincidentally spread the word that today MD Anderson was making an announcement about a new program - Moon Shots. MD Anderson drew inspiration from President Kennedy's words quoted above, hence the program's name. "The nation’s No. 1 hospital for cancer care, with its unparalleled resources and capabilities, is uniquely positioned to accelerate the end of cancer. It’s closer than you think. What’s learned from these initial cancer 'moon shots' will ultimately lead to cures for all types of the disease."

While LIVESTRONG does not fund medical research, they do have ties to MD Anderson, and one is hard-pressed not to hear MD Anderson being referred by LIVESTRONG Leaders and staff.

As it happens, the Moon Shots program specifically addresses the challenging cancer that my friend is fighting, as well as several others. My friend was on the verge of giving up all hope. And, thanks to LIVESTRONG's communication network, we learned that my friend has a reason to hope - even if it's just the chance to look at an alternative.

Hope is such a simple thing on the surface. But look below that surface.

I pray none of you have to test your hope outside of what I ask you to do in this blog post.

But if you do, know that you can always turn to LIVESTRONG for reinforcement of hope for you and your loved ones.

Please consider a donation to my LIVESTRONG Challenge Account - http://laf.convio.net/goto/RicaRocksAustin2012. The LIVESTRONG Challenge, since my diagnosis, provided me with a goal and hope and something to look forward to while I was in treatment, and now that my procedures are winding down, something to continue to hope towards.


* FYI, yes, I know, he actually asks what their favorite "curse word" is, but that would have defeated the lovely literary thing I had going there.