Tom DesFosses is Ready to Ride After Surviving a Malignant Brain Tumor
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Tom DesFosses had been diagnosed with primary central nervous system lymphoma in 2003, prompting him to organize A Reason to Ride event, which had raised more than $120,000 since it began two years ago, The Salem News reports.
The 68-year-old is an avid cyclist, and after successfully beating the disease, he wanted to give back by raising money for brain tumor research. He biked 750 miles around New England during his first event to raise money for the cancer research fund of Dr Eric Wong, a cancer expert who runs one of the largest cancer research facilities in Boston, Massachusetts, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
"The reason why I'm doing it, when I was first diagnosed at that hospital, I was given approximately three months to live, not me, but 85 percent of the people who go through treatment. So I decided I wanted to give something back to the hospital, so I chose to bike ride because I am a long-distance cyclist and I love to bike ride," he told the news source.
DesFosses says that the efforts of Dr Wong and those at Beth Israel saved his life, and that putting this biking event together every year is his way of giving back and supporting cancer research.
According the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than 22,000 malignant tumors of the brain and spine will be diagnosed this year in the United States.
The chance of someone developing a malignant tumor of the brain or spine in their lifetime is less than 1 percent.
Primary central nervous system lymphoma is often diagnosed in older people or those who experience immune system problems. They are treated with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, but the outlook for patients who have diagnosed with this form of lymphoma is usually not as good as those diagnosed with other forms of lymphoma, which experts view as being partly related to people being older or having health issues when diagnosed.
The ACS provides detailed guides regarding brain and spinal cord tumors and primary central nervous system lymphoma, which includes survival statistics and current research being done on the illnesses.
The 68-year-old is an avid cyclist, and after successfully beating the disease, he wanted to give back by raising money for brain tumor research. He biked 750 miles around New England during his first event to raise money for the cancer research fund of Dr Eric Wong, a cancer expert who runs one of the largest cancer research facilities in Boston, Massachusetts, at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
"The reason why I'm doing it, when I was first diagnosed at that hospital, I was given approximately three months to live, not me, but 85 percent of the people who go through treatment. So I decided I wanted to give something back to the hospital, so I chose to bike ride because I am a long-distance cyclist and I love to bike ride," he told the news source.
DesFosses says that the efforts of Dr Wong and those at Beth Israel saved his life, and that putting this biking event together every year is his way of giving back and supporting cancer research.
According the American Cancer Society (ACS), more than 22,000 malignant tumors of the brain and spine will be diagnosed this year in the United States.
The chance of someone developing a malignant tumor of the brain or spine in their lifetime is less than 1 percent.
Primary central nervous system lymphoma is often diagnosed in older people or those who experience immune system problems. They are treated with chemotherapy or radiation therapy, but the outlook for patients who have diagnosed with this form of lymphoma is usually not as good as those diagnosed with other forms of lymphoma, which experts view as being partly related to people being older or having health issues when diagnosed.
The ACS provides detailed guides regarding brain and spinal cord tumors and primary central nervous system lymphoma, which includes survival statistics and current research being done on the illnesses.
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