Cowboy Up Ride Against Cancer – Wahpeton Daily News

Upon arriving in McLeod, North Dakota, Saturday morning it was evident something special was going on.

Horses waited for riders on every street in town. Cowboy hats and horse trailers were everywhere throughout the city as anticipation built for an extraordinary fundraiser to begin.

Riders and horses hit a 12-mile track Saturday, Aug. 19 that was more than a trail ride. Cowboy Up Ride Against Cancer is in its 13th year. Participants paid to join the ride to raise money for cancer research and to help patients at the Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo.

To cowboy up means whenthingsgettoughyou have to get back up,dustyourself off and keep trying. Anyone battling cancer knows how this slogan applies to their fight.

The color in this years ride was red, which is the representative color for multiple myeloma cancer. Patty Dick, Engelvale, North Dakota, was the guest speaker for the opening ceremony. She told her cancer story, a battle she will not win. Multiple myeloma has no cure, but each day since her diagnosis gives her children and grandchildren more time to make memories. Multiple myeloma, sometimes called bone marrow cancer, affects plasma cells elevated protein levels in her blood in April 2011 during a routine wellness check. Patty was told there are few reasons for elevated levels the most likely was cancer. More tests continued to show higher protein levels with calcium deposits also showing up. She was told the myeloma cells were crowding out bone cells. A bone marrow biopsy gave doctors a diagnosis, multiple myeloma.

The next few years were a watchful wait, she told the gathered audience at Cowboy Up. In late winter 2014 her cancer had reached a stage where her levels warranted increased care.

Its time we start treatment, her doctor said.

That summer she took four rounds of oral chemotherapy, a pill she took each day for 21 days straight with seven days off. The pill prepared her for a stem cell transplant scheduled for the winter. Doctors harvested her own stem cells and she underwent a transplant in December 2014. She and her husband, Mike, moved to Rochester, Minnesota, for a two-month stay during that time frame. Their five children took turns traveling to Rochester to be with them as she underwent the stem cell transplant. She was told there was danger of infection for those two months and she would need caregivers as she started a clinical trial of high-dose chemotherapy.

Although her story was difficult to tell, Patty shared some positive information. People with cancer are living longer and having greater quality of life during their survivor years, she said.

Im still fighting my battle, Patty said as horses along the streets talked to each other with whinnies and neighs. Higher protein levels showed up again.

In January 2017 she began immunotherapy. The treatments gives her hope, a message that people who battle cancer share. When lives are in danger hope is sometimes all there is.

A second guest speaker was a young boy from St. Joseph, Missouri. Weston Luebke explained how at Christmas he asked Santa for $200 to help breast cancer patients. Santa worked hard and gave him $200 for Christmas, but Weston wanted to do more. He and his family came up with the idea to create cancer bags. He gives these bags to people undergoing breast cancer treatments in St. Joseph, a bag that contains a blanket, peppermint, lotion, hand sanitizer and a game book. The hope is the bags will distract patients as they undergo treatments.

He and his family were increasing their donation circle to include the Roger Maris Cancer Center in Fargo. His mother is from McLeod, so attending the annual ride is part of their August vacation. This year though, Weston brought some cancer bags to give to upper Midwest patients.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the restless horses took over and the ride officially began.

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Cowboy Up Ride Against Cancer - Wahpeton Daily News