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Cancer survivor joins Lance Armstrong in Tour of Hope

Joan King, RNC, MSN, PhD, a cancer survivor and director of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing’s Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, was chosen to ride across the country alongside seven-time Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong in a campaign called the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope. Riding 24 hours a day, the 25-member team that accompanied Armstrong rode in relay squads of six, logging about 100 miles per group. This is a portion of King’s story.

Joan King

I have just returned from a once-in-a-lifetime experience of riding across the United States in nine days with 24 other bikers to encourage the public to know their cancer risk factors and to support cancer clinical-research trials. It was all part of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope, which partnered with Lance Armstrong and Trek Travel. Fourteen team members were cancer survivors, and six were caregivers of those with cancer. We also had four physicians who worked with cancer patients or cancer research, and one RN who participates in cancer research.

Our adventure started in San Diego on Sept. 29, 2005, when Armstrong led us out of the city. We biked together for 14 miles and then regrouped in a parking area, from which Squad A continued biking for another 76 miles. The remaining three squads boarded tour buses and were transported to our next transition site.

My squad was called Esperanza (Spanish for hope), which we chose in memory of Hope, the daughter of one of my team members, who died from leukemia four years ago at age 3. Throughout our journey, Esperanza was an inspiration to us all. I feel truly blessed to have participated in the Tour of Hope and, especially, to have been a member of this particular team.

At almost every transition point, the team was met by cancer survivors, caregivers and children who were eager to talk to us. One day, after riding 108 miles—the first time I had ever surpassed 100 miles—we entered a town where 400 children from an elementary school welcomed us with screams of excitement. Their reception gave us the adrenaline we needed to tag off to the other squad.

In Calera, Ala., Marly Landis brought her 8-year-old son down from Nashville to see us ride in at 2 a.m.! Landis wanted her son to see cancer survivors being strong and active, since his great-grandfather and one of the boy’s schoolmates had both just died of cancer. Regardless of where we started or ended a stage in the trek, well-wishers were there to cheer us on.

We had an incredible support crew. Team Esperanza had three cooks (one a former Tennessee Titans player); our own massage therapist, who knew exactly where the pressure points were; five drivers and five navigators, responsible for the support vehicles; one mechanic; our own coach; and our own manager. Multiply that by four, and you begin to understand the logistical challenge of supporting 25 bikers across the United States.

The tour was challenging and exciting. One of my most memorable experiences was a night ride in which we made a 40-mile descent toward Salt Flat, Texas. I was glad it was dark so I couldn’t read my computer to determine how fast we were going. We came down the mountain in under 90 minutes! At one point in our descent, the town was visible in the distance with its twinkling lights. It was a surreal experience, one I will never forget.

Tour de France winner and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong joined Joan King and others in the Bristol Myers Squibb Tour of Hope.

Team Esperanza had the privilege of being the last squad to ride on the tour, and we celebrated with champagne as we dismounted in Rockville, Md. Rain continued through the night and our final destination, the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., was flooded, but our chief navigator worked with local authorities to organize an eight-mile ceremonial ride with Lance Armstrong up to the nation’s capitol and then to the Marriott Hotel for a brief ceremony.

While the ceremony was shorter than previously arranged, it did not dampen our spirits. Twenty-five of us had successfully pedaled 3,300 miles in nine days, spreading a message of hope to cancer patients, their families and to cancer survivors. We hope that our stories will spur others on and encourage patients facing cancer to consider cancer clinical-research trials.

In many ways, being part of the Tour of Hope resembled the team approach needed to treat cancer. As a cancer patient, you need the oncologist, the surgeon, the radiologist, the nurse practitioner and other health care professionals, but the team is bigger than these visible individuals. Behind the scenes, there are scientists exploring new avenues of treatment, as well as support people, technicians, volunteers and family, who make a difficult time in one’s life bearable and even hopeful. My participation in the Tour of Hope thus validated my original conviction for joining the cross-country trek: “Having cancer is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a journey.” RNL

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