Stags Raise Money for Cancer Research Through Cycle for Survival

CLAREMONT, Calif. - "Very few people go through life without their lives being touched by cancer in some form," said Claremont-Mudd-Scripps head men's soccer coach Matt Edwards. "We're so excited that we had an opportunity to be involved with Cycle for Survival to help fuel the research of rare cancers."

At the end of February, the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's soccer team fundraised and took part in the 2018 Cycle for Survival, raising nearly $8,000 dollars for the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Cycle for Survival travels across the country with indoor cycling fundraisers that have raised north of $179 million since its founding in 2007. Every donation to Cycle for Survival are given to pioneering research and clinical trials, and have already led to new and better treatments for cancer patients worldwide. About 50 percent of people with cancer have a rare cancer. Rare cancers include brain, pancreatic, ovarian, stomach, all types of pediatric cancers, and many others. Even though they account for about half of all cancer diagnoses when combined, research on many rare cancers is drastically underfunded, often leaving patients with limited or no treatment options.

After fundraising efforts in the weeks leading up, the Stags headed to Equinox in West Los Angeles for the four-hour cycling event on Feb. 24. The CMS team rotated through five bikes, joining a much larger group in the West Los Angeles session and hundreds of other teams that have participated across the country in the relay-style sessions.

Joining the Stags as an honorary captain for the event was Associate Dean of Students at Claremont McKenna College Sue Layden, "I can't quite explain the joy I experienced when the CMS Men's Soccer Team asked me to join their team at Cycle for Survival," said Layden, a cancer survivor of joining the Stags' Cycle for Survival team. "I am a cancer survivor, and I believe I owe my survivorship status to the staff at Memorial Sloan Kettering; thus, to be able to ride with the men in their support of research and work that directly benefits my life and the lives of so many others, including my family and friends, was an empowering experience.

"It was quite emotional for me to be able to give back to MSK for saving my life, and to be able to honor the memories of those who have battled cancer and lost their fights because they lacked access to care, or because the research or oncology was still pending. I can't thank the team enough for their fundraising and support of Cycle for Survival, I am grateful to all of our contributors and supporters, and I am looking forward to what we can do next year!"

The men's soccer team is currently the sixth-highest fundraising team at the West Los Angeles event. If you'd like to support the men's soccer team and Cycle for Survival, there's still time to give to the 2018 campaign. Cycle for Survival is accepting donations here, until April 1, 2018.