Consul General Speeches

Remarks at the Kickoff for the 2007 Ride for the Roses, University Medical Center, Groningen, May 11, 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Thank you so much for inviting me to join you as you kick off your efforts to make the 2007 Ride for the Roses in The Netherlands a memorable one.  I’d like to extend a special “thank you” to Professor Harald Hoekstra from the University Medical Center in Groningen for inviting me to Groningen.  This is my first visit to this beautiful city and I am especially grateful that it is taking place in connection with such an important event.

I would imagine that many of you here this evening are familiar with the compelling life story of Lance Armstrong, the legendary U.S. cyclist who has become an inspiration to people all over the world as a cancer survivor, and a leading advocate for others fighting the disease.  But I wonder if you know about the origins of the Ride for the Roses.  Apparently, Lance Armstrong used to have a tradition of going out with a group of cycling friends each spring to race along a course they had set in the hills of Texas.  This was before his life changed irrevocably.  Armstrong was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1996.  He has written and spoken eloquently about his experiences, and his message has consistently been one of hope and strength.  Drawing on the support of his family and friends, Armstrong created the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997.  And it was his friends, in support of Lance Armstrong’s commitment to helping others fighting against cancer, that created the first Ride for the Roses in 1997.

Now, the Ride for the Roses takes place in several cities in the United States.  It is more than a symbol of solidarity with those who are engaged with their own struggles against cancer, it is a force for progress.  And it takes place here in The Netherlands.  In fact, this year is the tenth anniversary of the Netherlands Ride for the Roses, and I understand the organizing committee expects ten thousand cyclists to participate.

So, a friendly bicycle ride through the hill country of Texas has grown into an international fundraiser.  But it is so much more than that.  It is an opportunity for those of different abilities, from different backgrounds – and indeed across different nations – to come together and actively contribute to the effort to fight cancer.   From these disparate groups, we are drawn together as a community – a community that is critical in seeking support for cancer patients and survivors, for caregivers, and to those striving for new treatments and a cure.

In the United States, as elsewhere, the fight against cancer takes many forms.  Americans have made a commitment to this mission in a variety of ways.  We fundraise.  That means contributing donations to charitable foundations, research groups, local support groups and the host of other organizations that would not be able to do what they do without the generous support of my fellow citizens.  But, just as it does in The Netherlands, fundraising in the United States more often than not takes the form of active participation:  kids selling lemonade on a street corner, schools collecting recycled goods, running, walking and yes, cycling – to not only raise awareness for the resources available to those affected, as well as research, but to raise much needed financial support.

So, we participate.

Third, we volunteer.  School groups visit children’s cancer wards to do art projects with the kids or just play with them for a little while.  Around my old neighborhood in Washington, D.C., there are people who volunteer to transport patients to and from their appointments for treatment.  A team of dieticians  
helps cancer patients, survivors and caregivers with nutrition strategies and advice.  Volunteers staff a facility called Hope Lodge that hosts cancer patients and their families so that they have a restful, comfortable place to stay in the area instead of commuting long distances during treatment.

And finally, but no less importantly, is the role of advocacy in the fight against cancer.  As the American Cancer Society points out,

“Cancer is a political, as well as a medical, psychological, social and economic issue.  Life and death decisions about cancer are made every day not just in the doctor’s office but in Congress and in (our) statehouses."

And since the U.S. government is my country’s largest source of funding for cancer research, the American public has – and should have – a large say in how these funds are allocated.  Through education, and active civic participation, we are working towards alleviating suffering, advocating research and eventually eliminating cancer as a public health issue as well as a personal health issue.

I understand that the Dutch Central Bureau for Statistics identifies cancer as the number one cause of death among men in this country, and the second most common cause of death among women.  In men, lung cancer has long been the leading cause of cancer deaths.  Among women, breast cancer is the most common cause of death, but – again, according to the Central Bureau for Statistics – this year lung cancer will overtake breast cancer as the most common form of deadly cancers.

So we have some work to do:  in the U.S.  In The Netherlands.  And in the broader community of those working around the world to fight against cancer.

I think that efforts like the Ride for the Roses perfectly reflect the effort we must undertake:  building a community around a common cause.  Like the Ride for the Roses, this community must be inclusive – everyone should be encouraged to participate – and to participate as their ability allows.  Across the world, we have learned that this community includes mothers and fathers helping a child through treatment, volunteers who give selflessly of their time to alleviate the hardships of others, and scientists perhaps working in different laboratories in different countries but collaborating on a scientific discovery that leads us closer to finding a new cancer treatment, or a cure.

Whether you have money, or time or skills to contribute, events like the Ride for the Roses remind us that the time to do so is NOW.

Before I came to Groningen today I took a look through the many wrist bands that my son has managed to collect over the past year.  Of course the wrist band phenomenon also originated with Lance Armstrong – and his LiveStrong campaign which encouraged people by wearing a wristband to show their support for a cause worth supporting, and a community worth belonging to.  Taking part in a cycling event like the Ride for the Roses also helps people understand that it is only by working together that we will beat cancer.

I think it is rather fitting that that this event grew out of a group of friends, tightly bonded, who embarked together on an effort to support one of their own and in doing so reached farther than perhaps they ever intended – who inspired others to hope, and to reach, and to strive to make a difference in the battle against cancer.

I congratulate the organizing committee, the sponsors and the participants in this year’s Ride for the Roses – for having the vision to make this event the largest and most successful so far, and for dedicating themselves to making a difference.