Team Super K! Bikes to Create a World Without Cancer

Kate Arnold, of Lincolnshire, had her life turned upside down in June 2008 when she was diagnosed with Follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. For the mother of two and her family, the diagnosis came as a total shock. With treatment, Kate went into remission four months later. Soon after, Kate’s husband Charles got involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training (TNT) program as a way to give back to others touched by blood cancers.

Charles trained alongside many others from the Chicago area to complete a triathlon. While he was training, Kate relapsed in March 2009. She and Charles spent all of 2009 and much of 2010 in various treatments. As Charles says, "I started with TNT on the highest of notes, but before that first season even finished Kate relapsed – and I saw what TNT is really."

"When Kate’s relapse happened, my teammates stopped being my friends and became my family," Charles says. "They were there for me when I needed them. They brought the full force of caring and compassion that drives them to do what they do to bear on Kate and me and they kept us afloat. It was amazing."

Thanks to a stem cell transplant from an anonymous donor in June 2010, Kate is now cancer-free. "Kate is currently in remission, but it came at a tremendous cost and we continue to deal with the side-effects," Charles says. "It seems our fight against this disease and its effects will continue long into the future. That is why I continue to swim, bike and run."

Throughout Kate’s initial remission, relapse and transplant, Charles has continued to participate with Team In Training in various endurance events, including the St. Anthony’s Triathlon and Chicago Triathlon. This year Kate and Charles will complete the Blood, Sweat & Tears Charity Bike Ride in Highland Park, IL together – as Team Super K! This will be their second year participating in the event as a team with family and friends.

The Blood, Sweat & Tears Charity Bike Ride will take place on Sunday, September 30 in Highland Park. Registration is $35. Currently in its 10th year, Blood, Sweat & Tears was started and continues to be organized by Team In Training cycle staff and volunteers.

"We are so appreciative to Kate and Charles for being willing to share the experience of lymphoma," says LLS executive director Pam Swenk.　"As hard as it is to tell the story, it helps people understand how important Team In Training is and what a difference The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society makes.　Without the commitment of each and every participant, and the dollars raised, we would not be able to invest in the research that is changing the quality of life for people living with cancer."

Proceeds from Blood, Sweat & Tears – like the funds raised by TNT participants in other endurance events – benefit LLS's mission: to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Choose from one of the many distances: 5 (Family Fun Ride), 20, 45, 62 or 100-miles. To register, visit http://il.bike.llsevent.org/. The ride begins at 7 a.m. from the Highland Park train station.

LLS’s Team In Training program is the leading endurance sports charity training program. TNT provides coaching for various athletic events, including full and half marathons, triathlons and a century (100-mile) bike ride. Since its inception in 1988, TNT has trained over 500,000 athletes – approximately 40,000 annually – who together have raised over $1.2 billion for cancer research.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society  The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission:　Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world and provides free information and support services. 　

Founded in 1949　and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has　chapters　throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org or contact　the　Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET. www.lls.org.