1. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Courtney Meredith
512.236.8820 Ext.2020
press@livestrong.org
RAGBRAI Bike Ride Pays Tribute and Honors Cancer Survivor, Late Son
SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The 43rd
“Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa” (RAGBRAI) kicks off on July
19, and 71 members of Team LIVESTRONG will be joining the seven-day journey across the hills of Iowa
for the ninth straight year. One particular member of the team, Mary Ochowicz, 61, of Milwaukee,
Wisc., will ride for her fourth time after battling both her and her son’s cancer diagnoses.
In 2008, Mary’s son David, 16 at the time, was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a cancer of
the immature blood cells in bone marrow. After Mary agreed to be the donor for his bone marrow
transplant, a mammogram to reassure her health status resulted in Mary’s diagnosis of triple negative
breast cancer -- the deadliest type of breast cancer. That same day doctors took out 18 punctures of a
tumor in Mary’s breast.
The Ochowicz family quickly got involved with the LIVESTRONG Foundation soon thereafter and used its
free programs and services to help with their diagnoses. Mary’s friends at the Foundation encouraged
her and her son through every step of their respective battles.
Fresh off of treatment, Mary registered for RAGBRAI for her first time in 2010 after surviving 33 rounds
of radiation and six months of chemotherapy.
“I was a mess,” she said. “I was bald, I was bleeding, but my teammates were there for me every second
of it. My bike was my safe haven. It was my freedom, my refuge, my therapy.”
A year later David and Mary’s physical statuses were both improving. However, David’s treatment had
taken a toll on his mental health. He was experiencing secondhand illnesses and had become addicted
to the pain medication of his treatment.
In the years following he slipped into a severe depression. In January 2014, David left this world on his
own terms at 21 years old.
“He was the sweetest, nicest person you’d ever know,” Ochowicz said. “The damage from treatment just
ended up being too much. I call it the ‘aftermath of cancer.’ Survivorship is about so much more than
being cancer-free. He died from mental illness, a direct result of the cancer.”
That same year Mary registered to ride in RAGBRAI again with the support of her teammates and family
to honor David, and she plans to do it again this year.

2. “I love my LIVESTRONG family so much,” Ochowicz said. “I could call any one of them at any time and
they’d do anything for me. That kind of love and support is a miracle. I felt like I lost my purpose when
David passed away, but I’ve realized my purpose is to encourage others and to support the Foundation. I
decided to stay up and to stay strong. That’s why I ride – to think about my beautiful son. This is my
finish line.”
Team LIVESTRONG designed a tribute jersey for David for this year’s ride to honor the fight and his
legacy.
RAGBRAI attracts approximately 8,500 week-long riders to the 468-mile journey each year, divided into
intervals and giving Team LIVESTRONG plenty of time for fun, good company, and sharing stories.
Whether riders trek all seven days or jump in along the way, RAGBRAI is a ride rather than a race and
one way you can help support the Foundation’s mission while having fun in the process.
You can join Mary, Team LIVESTRONG, and thousands of others on the journey from Iowa’s western
border to the mighty finish at the Mississippi River on July 25 by visiting Team LIVESTRONG.
About the LIVESTRONG Foundation
The LIVESTRONG Foundation fights to improve the lives of people affected by cancer now. For 18 years,
the Foundation has been a voice for cancer survivors and has directly served more than three million
people. LIVESTRONG answers survivors’ questions, tells their stories and helps them live their lives
through direct service, advocacy and inventive partnership models. In 2014, the Foundation launched its
boldest enterprise yet—the LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes at the Dell Medical School at The University
of Texas at Austin. The Institutes will be a pioneering approach to patient-centered cancer care designed
by survivors to deliver the best teaching practices and the greatest collaborative research to serve the
cancer community.
If anyone you know needs cancer support, please visit LIVESTRONG.org/WeCanHelp. For more
information about our programs and services, please visit LIVESTRONG.org.
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