As a cancer survivor, I have experienced firsthand the difficulties and uncertainties that arise after you’re told the cancer is gone and you try to get back to who you were before your diagnosis. I can still recall a survivor friend telling me that I might not have the luxury of returning to who I once was because that person never had cancer. I soon realized that survivorship was very complex and that I would need considerable support from my family and friends as I created my “new normal.”

I enjoyed a very meaningful career in museums prior to being treated for Hodgkin’s disease in 2006 and I assumed I would successfully return to it after my treatments ended. In short time, I discovered that my goals for the museums I worked for were more meaningful to who I was before my diagnosis. Instead, I decided to bring my professional skills to a position that would benefit cancer patients and their families.

In April 2007, I joined Yale Cancer Center as Associate Director of Development. I am privileged to be part of a team of doctors, nurses, researchers and staff whose tireless efforts translate scientific advances into valuable new therapies that directly benefit the patients in their care and others across the country and around the world.

This year I ride for two people in particular. I ride for my three-year old son Owen, who is thrilled that his Daddy is helping to build a hospital even though I am not operating heavy construction equipment! And for my wife Carrie, in appreciation for the love and support she gave me throughout months of treatment, during the unexpected challenges of survivorship, and now as we continue to adjust to our life together that is both normal and new.

Tags: cancer survivor, cancer survivorship, charity bike ride, connecticut challenge, ct challenge bike ride, Peter Lamothe, why i ride, yale, yale cancer center