ST. LOUIS – Another year of Pedal the Cause is in the books, but the fundraiser continues through the end of October.
Craig Stiegemeier is a cancer survivor.
“In 2012, I was diagnosed with a melanoma,” Stiegemeier said. “That’s why this ear’s a little funny shape. They cut it off, but it had metastasized and spread. I lost a golf ball-size piece of my brain. I lost a right kidney, and all my lymph nodes were full of cancer.”
He learned about the impact of Pedal the Cause firsthand, and he rides and volunteers every year.
“Pedal the Cause was a big sponsor in all this out-of-the-box cancer research,” Stiegemeier said. “Immunotherapy is one of them, and it was just FDA-approved a few months before I needed it, and now it’s my 11th ride.”
Around 3,000 people took part in the cycling events on the course, and hundreds participated virtually. There were also around 700 volunteers.
“Everyone is affected by cancer,” said Eleanor Goedeke, Pedal the Cause director of communications and marketing. “It’s just the harsh reality of it, and what we’ve seen over the last 14 years is Pedal the Cause dollars are creating real impact. They are actually moving the needle in terms of treatments and cures for cancer.”
The cyclists on site had six different courses to choose from, between 10 and 100 miles. Pedal the Cause generates critical funding for cancer research at Siteman Cancer Center and Siteman Kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. It’s paid for 211 individual research projects to date.
“Those research projects have gone on from that, from that seed idea to being proven out on an average attracting another $12 from national sources for every dollar Pedal invested originally,” said David Drier, Pedal the Cause executive director. “So when you do the math, there is over a half a billion dollars that’s been generated over these past 14 years for cancer research here in St. Louis. It’s a phenomenal success story.”
This year’s Pedal the Cause has raised more than $3.8 million so far. Fundraising continues until the end of October. Organizers say all the money raised goes directly to cancer research.
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