SON: Connections - Fall 2003

Headlines | Briefly | From the Deans Desk

Nursing Professor to Cycle Cross-Country for Cancer Awareness

A survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and a world-class bike racer, Anna Schwartz will join Lance Armstrong, five-time winner of the Tour de France, and 25 other cyclists in a weeklong relay across America.

Schwartz, an Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems in the University of Washington School of Nursing and a nurse practitioner at Northern Arizona Cancer Center in Flagstaff, Ariz., was selected from a pool of nearly 1,000 people to participate in the 2003 Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope. The tour aims to raise public awareness about the value of cancer research.

Starting Oct. 11, team members will pedal from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., stopping at cancer centers along the route. Collectively the teams will cover 120-180 miles a day, each individual team riding 3-4 hour shifts every 12 hours. At their stops, the riders will invite people to personally commit to learning about cancer and the necessity of cancer research. The cyclists will also keep a journal on the Web chronicling the 3,200 mile trek.

Schwartz says she was chosen to ride in the Tour of Hope because "I am a strong cyclist, I'm involved in cancer research and I'm a spokesperson for cancer survivors."

Schwartz is currently conducting research on the benefits of exercise on the short and long-term physical and emotional side effects of cancer treatment. "I have benefited from and seen how cancer research has benefited others," Schwartz says. "Now I want to increase awareness about the importance of cancer research."

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