Why We Ride
The Heart Behind Team Fahey's Pelotonia Journey
Why We Ride: The Heart Behind Team Fahey's Pelotonia Journey
This morning, Team Fahey will join thousands of riders from across Ohio in Pelotonia's annual ride to fund cancer research. As they gather at the starting line, they'll carry with them more than bicycles, jerseys, and training miles.
They'll carry stories.
Stories of survival. Stories of loss. Stories of hope.
This year, Team Fahey has raised more than $30,000 to support life-saving cancer research. Every dollar represents a shared belief that better treatments, better outcomes, and ultimately a cure are worth fighting for.
For many of our team members, Pelotonia is personal.
Cancer has touched the lives of our employees, their families, their friends, and the communities we serve. Some have been patients themselves. Others have cared for loved ones through treatment. Some ride in memory of those they've lost, while others ride in celebration of the breakthroughs that allowed someone they love to survive.
Together, those experiences create the heartbeat of Team Fahey.
For Carole Jarrell, Pelotonia is a reminder of both gratitude and love.
Her first Pelotonia ride was shared with her husband, Bill. As a cancer survivor, she rode with appreciation for the care she had received and for the opportunity to support The James Cancer Hospital through a cause she believed in deeply.
Years later, that same disease would change her family's life forever.
"In 2021, our lives changed when Bill contracted esophageal cancer," Carole shared. "His treatment at The James was heroic, but the disease had progressed too far, and he died at James Hospice."
Yet even amid loss, she found strength in her community. Neighbors organized transportation to appointments, ensuring Bill could receive treatment, week after week.
Today, Carole continues to support Pelotonia because she understands what research, treatment, and community support mean to families facing cancer. As riders take off from North Bank Park tomorrow, just outside her window, she will once again be reminded why the mission matters.
For Sally Hughes, Pelotonia represents hope.
Seven years ago, Sally was diagnosed with endometrial cancer and underwent treatment at The James. Since then, the event has become far more than a bike ride.
"Pelotonia is truly my favorite weekend of the summer," she said.
The experience gave her a front-row seat to the impact of cancer research. It also reinforced an important truth. As her son Patrick observed shortly after her diagnosis, "Cancer does not play favorites."
Those words serve as both a reminder and a call to action.
For Sally, every ride celebrates the breakthroughs being made in cancer research and the possibility of a future where fewer families hear the words, "You have cancer."
"The ongoing breakthrough research happening at The James gives me so much hope for a cancer-free world," she said. "Pelotonia dollars are working."
Others on Team Fahey ride because research changed the course of their own lives.
Seven years ago, Jerry Todaro received advanced treatment for prostate cancer at The James Cancer Hospital. Today, he remains cancer-free.
His experience strengthened his belief that research funding is one of the most important investments society can make.
"This result would not have happened without the medical research funded by taxpayer dollars and individual contributions," Jerry said.
Like many cancer survivors, he understands that every treatment available today exists because someone invested in research years earlier. For Jerry, supporting Pelotonia is an opportunity to help ensure the next breakthrough is possible.
"Now more than ever, we need to step up and increase funding," he said.
For John DeMoully, Pelotonia reflects a journey familiar to too many families.
Seven years ago, he was diagnosed with testicular cancer while still in college. His father was diagnosed with multiple myeloma. Earlier this year, his mother lost her battle with lung cancer.
His story is deeply personal, "I know firsthand how a cancer diagnosis can upend your whole world," John said. That's why he believes so strongly in supporting an organization dedicated to discovering better treatments and better outcomes for future patients.
"In an ideal world, cancer no longer exists," he said. "But until then, I'm thankful for the research being done at The James to lead to better outcomes, fewer side effects, and more opportunities for smiles along the way."
Tomorrow's ride isn't just about the miles between the start and finish line. It's about the lives represented in every pedal stroke. It's about honoring survivors, remembering loved ones, supporting current patients, and funding the discoveries that may save someone's family tomorrow.
More than $30,000 has already been raised because employees, customers, family members, friends, and community supporters believe in that mission.mAnd while the fundraising milestone is significant, the stories behind it matter even more.
They remind us that cancer is not someone else's fight.
It's our fight.
It's why we ride.
And it's why Team Fahey will proudly line up at the starting line tomorrow, united by hope, driven by purpose, and determined to help create a future without cancer.
Support Team Fahey
There is still time to support Team Fahey's Pelotonia fundraising efforts and help fund life-saving cancer research.
Donate to Team Fahey Today!
Together, we can help create a future without cancer.
