Fighting Cancer in High Gear

by Amy Vames   |   Photo by Nick Romanenko   |   Published courtesy of Rutgers Magazine, 2017

Since 2005, cyclists in the Century for the Cure bike ride have pedaled enough miles to circle the earth nearly five times—and funded breakthroughs in cancer research along the way. The annual event, winding through New Jersey’s Somerset and Hunterdon counties each fall, has raised more than $2 million for leukemia, lymphoma, and immunotherapy research at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey. The ride was founded by Scott Glickman, who was treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the Cancer Institute in 1997, and his wife, Aileen D’Atri PHARM’88,’94.

“The impact has been extraordinary,” says Roger Strair, Glickman’s oncologist and chief of hematologic malignancies and blood and marrow transplantation at the Rutgers Cancer Institute. Funding from the ride has opened new avenues of research and facilitated clinical trials that have brought innovative treatments to patients. “We’re talking about more than 100 patients treated on Century for the Cure-sponsored studies,” Strair says.

Strair, D'Atri and Glickman
Scott Glickman, right, founded the Century for the Cure bike ride in 2005 with his wife, Aileen D’Atri, center, and continues to ride 100 miles in the event every year, as does his oncologist Roger Strair, left.

Thanks to proceeds from the ride, researchers have identified a subset of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma cells that resist standard chemotherapy and can cause cancer to recur. Researchers hope to develop treatments that will wipe out these cells for good. The ride also supports a study to determine whether magnesium supplements can boost leukemia and lymphoma patients’ immune systems. 

Cancer-free for 19 years and having pedaled 1,200 miles in support of the Rutgers Cancer Institute, Glickman remains committed to the cause. “People in our lives are affected by this disease,” he says. “Any time we feel like we’re getting tired, we’re quickly reminded of those who are still fighting, and that gives us energy to keep going.” 

Register for the October 1 ride at www.centuryforthecure.com.