Story submitted by Jennifer Von Iderstein
In the summer of 1987 when I was 12, my Mom was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer. She fought it valiantly until she passed away in December of 1997 at the age of 53. Greg was there for me when I returned to college and struggled with my loss. One of Mom’s last stops and last doctors was Steven Piver, who at the time worked at Roswell Park Cancer Center. He was one of the leading doctors in the treatment of Ovarian Cancer. He was also too late to save my Mom. However, that is beside the point. Dr. Piver began The Gilda Radner Registry began at Roswell Park Cancer Center in 1990. Gene Wilder graciously agreed to let the center use his wife’s name, as she had passed away the year before from Ovarian Cancer, and was also a patient. My mother’s information is part of the registry, as well as my own. It was renamed the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry in 2013. Because of this registry the survival rate of women who are diagnosed with Ovarian Cancers has dropped. Women are diagnosed earlier because of the research completed through this registry.
This is why I pledged Greg a tiny fraction of his 3500 for this ride. I wish it had been more. I wish I could participate in the ride as well, but I am not the biker as Greg is. Although, he is the reason I am attempting to participate virtually on my Peloton at home, riding a mile for every dollar I donated.
The Research completed at Roswell Park changes lives….of many, many people.