Lance Armstrong visits Ohio State
By Corey Spring
Even for a man who has won the Tour de France seven times and competed in three marathons, Tuesday had to have been a long day for Lance Armstrong.
Armstrong embarked on a four city cross-country tour Tuesday that included Columbus, Ohio. The reason behind the trek was an effort behind the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s one-day grassroots initiative to raise awareness, support, and financial contributions in the fight against cancer. The fundraising effort, dubbed as LiveStrong Day, also coincided with hundreds of other local events across the country in a bid to raise cancer awareness.
The cyclist and cancer survivor began the day in New York with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and acclaimed fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Together, the three toured the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care and Prevention. The Ralph Lauren Center is a community based center used “for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.”
After his jaunt in the Big Apple, Armstrong hopped a plane to speak with a crowd in Columbus at The Ohio State Medical Center Plaza in front of Rhodes Hall. Armstrong’s flight was slightly delayed, putting him behind schedule by approximately 25 minutes.
Armstrong joked with the crowd about Ohio State football and the O-H I-O chant before getting to the heart of his speech.
“We’re in the middle of one hell of a race for president,” said Armstrong. “It feels like it’s the Super Bowl but amped up by about ten... we all understand there is a lot on the line for our society. But once we have two final candidates, we as cancer survivors and we as concerned citizens have to make sure that this disease is a priority.”
Armstrong made his case to potential voters in Ohio to make cancer a determining factor in their decision for who they will vote for in the next presidential election.
Armstrong also thanked Sen. John McCain for already agreeing to attend the LiveStrong Summit being held on the OSU campus from July 24-27. The purpose of the Summit, also sponsored by the Lance Armstrong Foundation, is to bring together delegates from across the country to learn how to effectively mobilize and advocate for cancer policy improvements on the local, state, and national level.
“We will have the future President of the United States in this city, discussing this issue, I promise you that,” Armstrong concluded.
Armstrong was then expected to attend an event at the University of Denver in Colorado featuring talks by cancer survivors later in the day, before finally finishing the day in Las Vegas visiting the Nevada Cancer Institute to meet with staff and patients and attending a final fundraiser at the Palazzo Hotel.
Last week Armstrong appeared before a Senate panel with Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Sen. John Edwards, to urge Congress to renew the fight against cancer.
“It’s time for our country to refocus and relaunch a comprehensive war on this disease,” Armstrong told the Senate panel. “This opponent is probably tougher than anything we’ll ever face.”
Last year, the Lance Armstrong Foundation presented The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and the James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute with a five-year $1.25 million grant to improve the care and quality of life of cancer survivors. The money is helping Ohio State develop a cancer survivorship center, increasing support services for cancer survivors, and pouring more money into research efforts related to survivorship.
The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at Ohio State comprise one of only seven cancer centers that make up the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s “LiveStrong Survivorship Center of Excellence Network. According to the foundation, the network provides “provides essential survivorship services and increases the effectiveness of survivorship care through research.”
Armstrong’s visit to Columbus is only one of several high-profile cancer-related events coming up. The 16th Annual Komen Columbus Race for the Cure will take place in downtown Columbus this Saturday. The 5K race typically attracts thousands of participants and has raised almost $11 million for breast cancer education and research since its inception in 1993.
On campus, the American Cancer Society will hold its 6th annual Relay for Life at OSU on Saturday and Sunday at Fred Beekman Park at the corner of Kenny Road and Lane Avenue. Relay for Life is one of the premiere fundraising activities of the American Cancer Society which raised over $400 million nationally for cancer education and research last year.
Originally Published: Issue 648 - May 14, 2008
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