After dedicating 17 years to the cancer registry industry and CHAMPS Oncology, I thought my passion for this profession was pretty strong, until January 2019 when I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Ovarian Cancer. Suddenly the work our cancer registrars have done for more than 40 years meant even more to me. After a successful surgery and three cycles of chemotherapy at Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center, I was cleared of this life-threatening disease. I am eternally grateful to my CTR community, my Cleveland Clinic physicians and nurses and to John McLeod, my amazing coworker, IT data guru and forever friend who’s riding in the VeloSano two-day, July 20-21, in honor of my cancer journey and CHAMPS Oncology’s mission. I’m so humbled by his commitment and enthusiasm for the idea that better data saves lives™. John has been cycling since college and has continued his passion for riding by commuting to and from work 90% of the time while working at CHAMPS Oncology for the past 10 years. His true talent and gift to this industry is his ability to take the quality cancer registry data we collect and manipulate it into valuable information that impacts treatment paths, fuels research studies and ultimately improves cancer care. To show our appreciation for John and all of the riders, my husband, Mike, and I will be supplying water and snacks to all of the riders on Sunday, July 21 from 7:45 a.m. to noon. Please join me in helping John McLeod meet his $2,000 fundraising goal. And make sure to follow along with John’s journey on CHAMPS Oncology’s Twitter account and Facebook page!
