Like many of us, David’s life was touched by cancer when his sister June died of brain cancer. David wanted to find a unique way to honour his sister and raise funds for cancer care and research – the Cycle of Lives Project was born. David set himself the very bold goal of cycling over 8,000km across the United States from Los Angeles via Florida to New York in just over 6 weeks.
Cycle of Lives project became about much more that fund raising though – David selected 15 people whose lives had been irrevocable changed by cancer either as a patient, a loved one, carer or doctor. He interviewed these people about the emotional chaos that comes with cancer and visited many of them as part of his epic ride across the country. David observed that many people are very good at talking about the tasks related to cancer such as how to navigate the health care system but when it came to having frank conversations about the emotions accompanying cancer, they were not as well equipped. He created a safe space for his 15 participants to share their poignant stories. David documented the Cycle of Lives bike ride and the stories that were shared with him in a book to help people open up the conversation about cancer.
All funds raised from Cycle of Lives are donated to cancer charities nominated by the participants.
