10 years of Empire State Ride battling cancer

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Hundreds of cyclists made their way through the Capital Region, riding for a good cause to raise money for research to put an end to cancer. The event founder, Terry Bourgeois and friends came out for the 10-year anniversary of Empire State Ride. It is a 500 plus mile trek from New York City to Buffalo.

“The first year I did it by myself and we grew from there. It was just too good not to share. But we came back with 10, 60, well over 100 and now we're up to 300 and we've raised 10 million dollars since we've started,” said Bourgois

With the help of friends like Jerry Lewandowski making the week-long trip possible. “It's a great group of people and everybody's here for one reason. There's no politics talk. There's no, the world talk. It's about what we can do to help people.” He says he rides for his wife. “I lost my wife in 2020. So, she spent a lot of time at Roswell. And always, when we were there said it always felt like home. She wanted to ring the bell and I'm doing everything I can to help other people ring the bell in her honor.”

Ringing the bell is an honored tradition for cancer survivors as they finish their final treatment. “It obviously eats at you and you want to make a difference, and there's no reason, the world that we have, and you know, the brilliant people, how are we still treating cancer the same way we did 20 years ago? We treat people with poison, and you know there's got to be a better way,” finished Lewandowski.

Bourgeois and his team say there is a better way, now.  It’s called CAR T-cell therapy. ““To be able to create therapies that are for you as an individual. It's not like we try this on this class of disease or whatever these are personalized Therapies that are designed for you as an individual,” said Bourgois.

“This is a really amazing Advance when you think about it as we move away from those really toxic therapies like chemotherapy and radiation. Now, you're actually training your immune system to move through the body and recognize tumor cells and kill them directly. It's much safer, much less toxic,” said Dr. Joyce Ohm, Chair of Department Cancer Genetics and Genomics Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center.

But you cannot be of any help to others if you don’t take care of yourself. “After most of the Riders have done 80 miles today on their bikes there's another therapy involved in today's ride. So, what do you do after an 80-mile ride?” asked NEWS10 Reporter James De La Fuente.

"You get a massage,” answered one of the many masseuses on staff for the event.

"How’s that feel?" De La Fuente asked one of the cyclists getting a massage.

“Feels wonderful man. It feels great. We have 100 miles tomorrow so it's all going to be worth it,” said the rider.