The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Cancer survivor rides gratefully
Shortly after treatment he became involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Randy Writz measures cancer remission one fundraiser at a time.
And after beating a rare blood cancer, mantel cell lymphoma, in 2013, Writz and his team raised $856,813 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to help other patients and to hasten a cure.
“To me every day is a blessing because I’m probably not supposed to be here, and that the people would be so enthusiastic in these fundraisers, that a group this size would raise that type of money,” the Concord Township resident said.
Writz is area director of 84 Wendy’s franchise restaurants from Cleveland and Lorain County to Rochester, N.Y. The restaurants are owned by Muy Hamburger Partners in San Antonio.
When Writz received a mantel cell diagnosis in 2012, the prognosis was not good.
“Mantel cell lymphoma is one of the tougher blood cancers,” Writz said. “I spent close to a year in and out of the hospital. It was a very heavy chemotherapy routine and bone marrow transplant.”
Like a battering ram, the chemotherapy beat Writz down further each cycle, which included one week in the hospital for treatment, and three weeks out for recovery, he said.
“Each time you’re more beat up,” Writz said. “The final one they basically give you six months of chemo in four days. After that you get your bone marrow transplant. It takes about a year to get everything back. It was six months before I could taste things again. It’s basically a brand new immune system. You have to get all of your baby shots again. I’m pretty lucky. We have the best health care in the world.”
Writz received treatment at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Care Center in Cleveland.
Shortly after that he became involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“I started going back to the gym,” Writz said. “A friend was on the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Board. He asked if I was
still riding a bicycle. I said, ‘I’m going to get back to it again.’”
He signed up for a twoday ride from Seattle to Portland.
“The first thing was: How was I going to raise the money?” Writz said. “I got with my team.”
He partnered with the LLS to sell blood dots in the Cleveland and Lorain stores where he spends most of his time, he said.
“I was hoping to raise $25,000 to $30,000,” Writz said. “But I have such an enthusiastic team, the first time we tried this we raised $38,000. The ride was in July of 2013. My birthday is in July, and I did the ride on the day after my 60th birthday. There were two guys who said, ‘Let’s do it in one day.’ I said, ‘The old guy is going to go with you young guys.’ We rode 204 miles in 14 1/2 hours. That inspired my team.”
He prepared himself physically for the ride in about four months.
“It’s part of the LLS team in training,” Writz said. “Usually on Saturdays you get together and ride your bikes. But the plan was never to do the whole 204 miles at once. We decided to do it the night before.”
Last fall Writz’s team participated in Bike Across America from San Diego to St. Augustine, Florida, he said.
“We did it in a leap frog,” Writz said, with each person riding 600 to 700 miles of the 3,400 total miles.
“We started by dipping our bikes in the Pacific Ocean and ended by dipping our bikes in the Atlantic Ocean. We finished two days before the hurricane came in.”
The last three years he participated in America’s Most Beautiful Bike Ride, which includes 72 miles in mountains around Lake Tahoe in Nevada and California on a 24-speed road bike.
“That’s a very difficult ride,” Writz said. “You’re going up and down in the mountains. It’s a gruelling ride. It’s something you do to raise money for a cause you really believe in. For the last three years, I’ve been the top fundraiser in the country for that ride. My people know what I have been through, and they’re very motivated to raise money for blood cancers; plus my customers: It’s hard to find a family not touched by blood cancers.”
The most recent fundraiser, Light the Night Walk, is 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 8, at Wade Oval in Cleveland, said Maggie Smith, campaign specialist for Light the Night and LLS.
Writz’s team raised $79,647 in three weeks, Smith said, with the top restaurant — the Wendy’s at 604 N. Leavitt Road in Amherst — collecting more than $4,000.
Smith expects more than 10,000 people to participate in Light the Night because so many families have been impacted by blood cancer, including her brother.
The Light the Night Walk celebrates blood cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones, he said.
“It’s to let the world know we’re going to kick cancer’s (behind),” Writz said. “This year I’m already signed up for Tahoe, and when I ride in Tahoe, I will have raised more than $1 million. I’m talking more people into joining us. I’ve talked another about 200 Wendy’s to join raising money for LLS. That’s all from my going through cancer four years ago.”
A biggest surprise during his cancer fight was the total encouragement from every person involved in his care, Writz said, from doctors and nurses and therapists to acquaintances.
“And I never thought I could ride a bicycle the way I could ride it. I’m just incredibly blessed and inspired by the people in the LLS and the people I work with, too. Every day they inspire me.”
Writz said he believes his healthy lifestyle of exercise and good food choices before his diagnosis weighed heavily in his survival.
He rides his bicycle in events wearing proudly a purple and white LLS jersey.
“I’m thankful to be alive,” Writz said. “I’m thankful I live in Northeastern Ohio where people are so generous. They give to causes to make the world a better place.”