Cancer doesn’t stop Air Force cyclists from crossing Iowa

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Kristen D. Duncan
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
CORALVILLE, Iowa (AFPN) --  Tears don’t fall lightly from a colonel, especially in front of more than 120 other Airmen. But when Col. John Clarke presented Pamela Vineyard a plaque, representing a weeklong bike ride across the state of Iowa, the tears were evidence of the inspiring and amazing example of her strength and character.

Her strength and character were tested, along with 101 other Air Force cyclists and 10,000 others in the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa, or RAGBRAI, a more than 450-mile bike ride spanning a week.

It had been more than 20 years since Colonel Clarke was diagnosed with cancer and more than 20 years that he underwent surgery and radiation therapy. For Pamela, it had only been seven months since she was diagnosed with cancer, for the second time.

They both had the chance of a lifetime Thursday in Newton, Iowa, when they were invited to a reception to meet Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France champion cyclist and cancer survivor. The meaningful conversation and rare photo opportunity captured a moment neither says they will forget. 

Ms. Vineyard, a logistics management specialist deputy program manager from Hill Air Force Base, Utah, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1999. After three surgeries and being in remission for seven years, she thought she had fought it and won.

Her battle began again Jan. 13, 2006, during her annual check-up.

“The doctor looked at my chart, and when he turned around my heart just sank,” she said. “This cannot be happening again.”

After surgery to remove the tumor, which had wrapped around the bladder, colon and was attached to her uterus, she said she thought she was going to die.

“I knew you could survive a single occurrence; I didn’t know that you could treat it the same way it was the first time,” she said. “The first diagnosis I thought I was going to lose everything. And then I got mad, I thought no, this is not the end, I’m not going to just throw in the towel, and I’m not a quitter. I just thought having a positive attitude and continuing my life as normal as I possibly could was the best way of handling it.”

A bike enthusiast, she began riding mountain bikes in 1995 and shortly transitioned to road bikes.

“Cycling has been a passion of mine, it’s so therapeutic. I can work through a lot of stuff on my bike, and I just decided that as soon as I felt well enough I’d go out and ride five miles.”

And ride five miles she did. Her training was filled with new injuries and pain she hadn’t experienced before the chemotherapy, which she just went through from February through April. Her training paid off when she completed all seven days of RAGBRAI. RAGBRAI culminated in more than 450 miles of hills and flats that brought out more than 20,000 riders, support personnel and spectators from every state and 15 countries.

Her third RAGBRAI, she said she felt stronger each day and didn’t walk her bike up a single hill.

Her athleticism mirrors that of Colonel Clarke, who averages 150 miles a week riding his road bike to work each day to the Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB, Texas.

The colonel was diagnosed with testicular cancer, the same as Lance Armstrong, the day before his 28th birthday. The colonel’s doctor told him it was most common in men ages 20 to 40, the target age group for men in the military, which is why it’s so important to be aware of the dangers.

“It was very serious, and he needed to get me in the hospital right away,” he said.

Colonel Clarke was treated with surgery and radiation therapy for 30 days.

Twenty-one years later, he led guys half his age up the hills through Iowa alongside the seven-time Tour de France champion and Live Strong Foundation founder.

“It was phenomenal to stand next to a man who fought through it, and he had it a lot tougher than I did because it spread to all parts of his body,” the director of personnel data systems said. “But still it’s a bond that never goes away, it’s the 10th anniversary this year of his diagnosis, and it was really a struggle to come back. That first couple of years were really a struggle. He said you always count the anniversaries ... it was pretty special.”

Now, he performs regular self-exams. He said everyone should understand what to look for and especially contact a doctor if they find anything abnormal.

Both Colonel Clark and Ms. Vineyard stressed the importance of a support network, whether family and friends or the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, or the Live Strong Foundation. All the organizations have literature and information available online as well as classes about what to expect and even how to prepare for the side-effects, like losing hair.

“Listen to your body, get your exams, don’t smoke, exercise and eat healthy,” Ms. Vineyard said.

Both the colonel and Ms. Vineyard said people should tell all their friends and family about the dangers of both types of cancer. Women should have yearly exams and men should perform self-exams in addition to seeing their doctor. They said it can happen to anybody.

“If it helps one person to realize, ‘Hey ,I better call my doctor,’ then I will have done a good thing; and if me riding and getting out here inspires anybody, then again that just makes what I went through worth it,” she said.

The reception with Lance Armstrong inspired both of the Air Force cycling team’s cancer survivors.

“I think that was one of the most amazing events in my life, just to be in the same room and have him take a picture with us ... he’s a hero to all of us. When I was laying in the hospital thinking, 'Can I do RAGBRAI?' Lance did the tour; I think I can do RAGBRAI,” she said.