Arizona man cycling cross-country for cancer research after mother’s death
Something Good is sponsored by Papa Murphy’s
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- An Arizona man and former NFL athlete is cycling across the country for cancer research. Michael Dritlein is riding in honor of his mother, who lost her battle with glioblastoma last December. His mother passed away just six months after her diagnosis. Now, Dritlein is stepping up to join hundreds of riders to help others fight cancer.
Before her diagnosis, Dritlein’s mother beat breast cancer. However, she fell while gardening, which led to doctors diagnosing her with glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer. Her son became her caregiver and slept by her bedside every night for the last three weeks of her life.
He says the group plans to share personal stories and do cancer fundraising along the way. “All of us who are doing this ride are my colleagues. We’re doing this ride for a purpose; all of us have a “why” behind this,” he explained.
Dritlein will be biking up to 80 miles daily, cycling from Cannon Beach, Oregon, to Bend, Oregon. The athlete says the ride is a time for personal reflection and to be open with one another. “We also have a group of people I’m doing the first leg with. We’ve had a lot of time to share stories and communicate with each other that healing process. But ultimately, we’re doing it to fight so other people don’t have to go through the pain that we’ve been through and hopefully make a difference in cancer,” he said.
Tell us Something Good. Go to the Something Good page on azfamily.com and click ‘Share Your Story’ to nominate someone who has gone above and beyond to do something good in their community.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2023 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
