ATLANTA — Two cancer survivors are embarking on an incredible ride - pedaling more than 4,000 miles from the corner of Canada to the Atlantic coast of Florida. Imagine the Tour de France. Times two.
Annie Lipsitz, an Atlanta native, and Bob Falkenberg are pedaling from Vancouver to Jacksonville Beach to raise funds and awareness for Be The Match, the non-profit that helped save their lives.
It is a ride that was sparked from a promise Falkenberg made after he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2009.
“When I was in the hospital I made a commitment to myself that I would do everything I could to help other patients if I got through it okay," Falkenberg said.
He got through it okay, and his commitment to the cause sparked Team Lifeblood to benefit Be The Match. So, in early June, Lipsitz and Falkenberg started their cycling journey in Vancouver. It will end July 30 in Jacksonville Beach, Florida.
Photos: Leukemia survivors bike across America to raise awareness
The duo, both leukemia survivors, pedaled approximately 3,500 miles when they made it to Atlanta, Tuesday. An important stop - both received life-saving bone marrow stem cell transplants at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute.
Falkenberg told 11Alive's Elwyn Lopez Tuesday night that before his diagnosis, he had no idea about the need for donors to help cancer patients going through treatment.
"I had no idea about the marrow donor registry or signing up for it or anything. I just had no idea. I didn't know it was a problem," he said "I probably would've signed up."
According to Be The Match, at least 3,000 people die each year because they cannot find a matching bone marrow donor for both cancer and blood-related disorders. Falkenberg says the likelihood of finding a matched donor is as low as 23 percent in African-Americans.
But he and Lipsitz are both committed to raising awareness, so that others can get a shot at life after cancer, like they did.
“Doing a ride like this is something that I was never really sure that I could do even before my cancer diagnosis and especially after," Lipsitz described. "I both had this, 'I can definitely do it! Don’t tell me I can’t’ attitude, and also a lot of nerves about being able to do something this hard and this long."
Now, as Falkenberg and Lipsitz come to the end of their journey, they hope their story will inspire people to register to be a donor, and, hopefully, save a life.
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If you want to learn more about becoming a bone marrow donor, go to BeTheMatch.org.