It has been 12 years since my last surgery, and tomorrow will be my 12th year riding with The Nutcrackers. I’m deeply grateful for those years and the chance to continue living a full life.
I’m also grateful for Cycle for Survival and the work it supports in rare cancer research. At its heart, this effort is about two things: medical innovation and community. Without both, there is no way I would be here to ride tomorrow.
Prior to 1974, my diagnosis had a mortality rate close to 100%. Then, through basic research, a drug—cisplatin—was discovered that changed everything and ultimately helped save my life. And I cannot overstate the importance of the community of caregivers, family, and friends who rallied around me that year and helped me through the chemo, the surgeries, and the complications.
That is what this movement is all about: supporting groundbreaking research that saves lives and leads to less brutal treatments, and coming together in common purpose and mutual support. Every year I’m moved to tears when I see the tribute wall and the way people at the ride are bound together by the challenges and losses cancer brings into our lives.
I ride because someone funded the research that saved my life long before I knew I would need it. Thank you for all the support over the years. If you’re able, please consider giving this year – 100% of the funds go to germ cell tumor research at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
To donate: http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/jayerickson
With love and gratitude,
Jay
L-I-V-I-N – from the Utah desert to snowy Vermont:
Adventures In Testicular Cancer 
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