On Sunday, 35 children woke up at Lurie Children’s Hospital hoping to beat cancer. On the streets below, 22 cyclists were preparing for a five-day, 100-mile ride through Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin to raise money for childhood cancer research.
Sean Horton of Hugo, Minn., started training for the competition in May, just after his 7-year-old son, Felix, finished his last round of chemotherapy. Although Felix thinks his father is “insane” for riding his bike this far, the 38-year-old sees it as a tribute to his son’s fight.
“I’ve never run so many miles at once, but putting myself through tough times, although not as hard as cancer, is a way of fighting and a way of honoring my children.” said Horton.
Felix Houghton’s father, Sean Houghton (center), joins other cyclists on a five-day CUREage Bike tour across four states to raise funds for childhood cancer research on October 6, 2024. Getting ready to start the ride. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
Approximately 46 children will be diagnosed with cancer every day in the United States this year, but less than 10 percent of the federal cancer research budget is earmarked specifically for childhood cancer, according to the Children’s Cancer Foundation.
“We fund childhood cancer research through 5Ks, bike rides and lemonade stands. We need more support,” said EJ Courage of North Aurora, who rose early Sunday to cheer on the bikers. . She became involved with cycling organizer Cal’s Angels after her daughter Megan Courage Spawny was diagnosed with glioma, an aggressive form of brain and spinal cord cancer, in 2018.
This week’s Cage Ride on the shores of Lake Michigan raised more than $200,000 of a $250,000 goal to fund childhood cancer research. Unlike adult cancers, which are often caused by environmental and lifestyle factors, the causes of most childhood cancers are poorly understood and treatment options are limited.
“For the type of cancer that our daughter had, there was one treatment option, and if that didn’t work, there was no other treatment,” Courage said.
There are dozens of FDA-approved drugs to treat lung and breast cancer in adults. By comparison, only four drugs have been approved by the FDA to treat Klage-Sponey’s glioma, which she battled for four and a half years before her death at age 19 in June 2023.
A year before her death, the once promising long-distance runner used her handcycle to take part in a multi-day charity bike ride. During the ride, she met Kevin McDowell, a Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and childhood cancer survivor.
The 2022 photo shows Kevin McDowell (left) and Megan Spony participating in the CUREage Bike Ride, a five-day trip through four states to raise funds for childhood cancer research. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune) Karen Spony waves a flag at the start of the five-day Cuage Bike Ride through four states on Oct. 6, 2024. I started cycling two years ago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)
The Geneva native was in a good position to win the Junior World Triathlon Championship when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2011 at the age of 18. Cal’s Angels provided support for him and his family, even giving him an iPad, which he called a “lifeline” during the long days of being bedridden due to chemotherapy.
Through cycling and his athletic career, McDowell hopes to show children that it is possible to recover from a cancer diagnosis.
“I want to show the kids who are fighting right now that even though these are tough times, you can get through this and get your life back. You can get better from this,” McDowell said.
Shortly after 8 a.m. Sunday, the cancer survivor pedaled north along Lake Michigan with 21 parents, siblings, and allies of childhood cancer survivors and victims. They plan to end their trip Thursday in St. Charles.
