The Doc and Marjie are back home in Wyckoff, NJ. Their inspirational journey from Alaska to the Florida Keys was reported on their blog ValleyDocRide and followed by The Wyckoff Journal. We recently spoke with Dr. McConnell about colon cancer and his bicycle trip which was called Pedaling for Prevention.
These are two big subjects, so they are divided into two parts. The portion of the article devoted to the actual trip can be read by clicking here; but unless you have already scheduled a colonoscopy, we suggest residents of all ages read the piece below concerning how treating colon cancer early is key to success.
The death rate from colorectal cancer has been dropping for more than 20 years, but still remains a leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Deaths in 2008 are expected to reach almost 50,000, with an additional 100,000 new cases diagnosed. There have been great advancements in treating all stages of the cancer, but mostly the decline in deaths is due to increased screening which allows more colorectal cancers to be found earlier when the disease is easier to cure.
As Americans are living longer, turning the Big Five “O” does not carry the same psychological weight it once did. Instead, it carries a new significance as the day one should schedule a colonoscopy. Colon cancer has a significant survival rate if caught early, but prevention and detection need to become natural components to a person’s regular physical checkups. Although colon cancer can occur in younger people, especially those with a family history of the disease, it is more common in those over 50 years of age.
The education of the American public concerning colon cancer became prominent with the death of Jay Monahan, husband of Katie Couric. It again was in the news with the recent death of former White House spokesperson Tony Snow. Baseball player Eric Davis, a colon cancer survivor, is another big name who lent his hand answering phone lines at the Standup To Cancer telethon this September. Davis is well known for his game winning home run in the 1997 American League Championship Series while still undergoing treatment for his cancer. But even with this litany of high profile cases promoting awareness, many Americans continue to avoid proper testing to detect and defeat this cancer.
According to Dr.McConnell, the testing required to detect colon cancer is covered by insurance plans once one reaches the 50 year milestone; it is also covered if a person has symptoms such as blood in a stool. Like the increased coverage by insurance companies to detect breast cancer, insurance companies now provide additional coverage to those most susceptible to the disease; this group would also include those with a family history of colon cancer.
Getting people to drop the sense of embarrassment associated with the tests required for detecting colon cancer, or even the discussion of symptoms that might appear is an ongoing effort. The Colon Club works at this by selling their annual calendar of colon cancer survivors. The 2009 calendar features survivors all under the age of fifty showing off their scars and sharing their stories. The calendar offers the regular coverage of American holidays, but also adds numerous facts on colon cancer. The organization suggests it as a great gift that acts as a reminder to some, and a support system for those being treated for the disease.
The video below is different than many other colon cancer awareness videos. It comes across like a simple webcam video, but the low budget nature actually brings the subject down to a very personal level. It is a short video recorded by a newspaper editor in Ohio and how he discovered he had colon cancer.
The Ride
One could stretch back to Lewis and Clark as the original road trip buddies. Yes, they were sent out to study botany, geography and learn the culture of the various Native American tribes, but it was still a road trip at heart. The McConnell’s trip offers a new angle on an adventure that has become a right of passage in America and the basis for a genre of literature and film. The Journal is providing a brief overview of the trip, but readers wanting more can always visit the McConnell blog at ValleyDocRide.
Mark Twain’s early work Roughing It, about his travels in the wild west, is probably one of the first pieces of modern travel literature that helped formulate America’s idea of the open road. Jack Kerouac’s classic On The Road brought a new popularity to the story of the American road trip, as did John Updike’s Travel’s with Charley. Updike was older, and in less than robust health, when he embarked on his solo adventure in 1960 in a hodgepodge camper. But it was a keen desire of his to see the America he had so often written about prior to his death which occurred in 1968. Another famous book covering the genre in a literary manner is Blue Highways by Least Heat-Moon, and this narrative recounts journeys along the back roads of America.
While many Americans when asked about a trip they would like to take will offer exotic places such as Africa, Old World locales such as Paris, and mystical areas like Tibet, the majority will usually respond with a cross country trip. As a country of immigrants we share no ancestral attachment to the land we call America, only a shared spirit. This may be why the grand road trip is so ingrained in American consciousness: the belief that one must travel the land, meet the people, take in the landscape to get a full understanding of America as more than just an ethereal state of a shared spirit. One must travel its highways and byways to understand we are a compilation of unyielding dreams born from natural resources and human resourcefulness.
The story of The Doc and Marjie offers a new angle on the ultimate in American journeys. The Alaska-Florida itinerary differs from the traditional East-West travel, but there is also the peculiarly individual roles assumed as driver and bicyclist. As mentioned in the Pedaling for Prevention blog, and in previous Journal articles, this shared experience is made up of two very independent perspectives. Marjie, piloting the RV through American byways is living the experience through the parameters of the windshield. Driving the over-sized vehicle with the added responsibilities of keeping an eye out for “the boy” on the bike, her time alone is spent in the windowed bubble which by nature offers framed images of the land passing by and opportunity for introspective reflection. The Doc experiences a completely different perspective as he biked along through the elements with only inches and air separating him from the land.
“Some people wanted to know what I think about when I ride – mostly nothing. Sometimes I think about how much further I have to go, the scenery, road conditions, sing songs to myself, wonder what the hell I am doing out here…”, he writes in the beginning of the trip. Only a few days later he realizes the inadequacy of the response and adds, ” I was a little too sarcastic. In reality I do look and marvel at the beauty of the North Country especially the mountains and rivers. The rivers are large and incredibly fast.”
The role of support person, caregiver, is often more strenuous mentally if not physically. It lacks the immediacy of the drama that revolves around the physically challenging endeavor of The Doc, but it does provide some insight into the power of humor. “I am going crazy in the RV driving for 6-7 hours 10-30 miles/hour to spot a “boy” who LOVES to ride a bike. I am bleary eyed, have listened to 4 books on tape and when my tom tom GPS gets confused and tells me periodically to turn left in 400 ft over large cliffs or into a mountain – I am tempted.”, she blogs in the early part of the trip.
Nearing their goal, driving an RV which was lacking AC and a working refrigerator, Marjie’s humor remained intact and a sense of satori is evident in her observations, “But maybe this has been an emotional growth experience for me – working through trust issues with TomTom girl, making new friends along the way (Watson, Al the moose mounty and Nebraska), working as a team with my spouse as his support and living in a tiny space together, simplifying life (drastic reduction of clothing, food, entertainment choices), indulging in endless hours of internal dialogue and personal reflection….I’m thinking now this RV experience should be a required college course, an integral part of marriage counseling, a hallmark of Buddhist practice or behaviorist therapy. Maybe, sold as a franchise fantasy…”.
In our interview with The Doc, he confirmed that it was a great bonding experience; the couple celebrated their 37th anniversary while on the road. Bonding not only with each other but with a greater emotional attachment to the mass of America. The psychological impact of varying landscapes over so great a distance is the prime factor that evokes growth, both intellectual and spiritual. As The Doc reported, people are generally the same but live under different circumstances and perhaps speak with different accents.
There is no talk yet of a movie. Perhaps Hollywood might need to alter this simple storyline back to a different era. Instead of chasing a dream, perhaps the McConnells might be chased by Nazis spies with Marjie dragging the RV through the swamps of Florida in order to help The Doc escape the evil Fascist clutches. Or, more likely, perhaps members of the younger generation might be inspired by two retirees who covered a continent, and publish a movie online and in turn inspire others.
The Doc’s blog offered some insights on the energy crisis in America, or the crisis of creativity in failing to solve it, but the continually rising cost of gas might give the grand bicycle tour a new place in the history of road trips. For the adventurous adult with a flexible schedule, or for one of recent high school graduates choosing to take a “gap year”, the call of the open road is an exciting education. The Doc and Marjie’s trail from Alaska to Florida is not common, but not unheard of. A young man, Wade Anderson, has a very detailed website with a journal he kept on his solo bike ride from Alaska to Florida. He describes the adventure as, “An incredible journey across North America and into my soul.” It offers day to day entries along with a packing list and bicycle information. Associated Press reporter, Calvin Woodward, is a bit older than Wade but took on a no less challenging ride across America.
In the video below, in what must have made a great school essay, an 11 year old describes his 4000 mile bicycle tour across the USA and Canada.