The TMC Health 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo has always been a community-first experience built on camaraderie and moments that infuse optimism into each of our lives. And often, that optimism shows up exactly when it’s needed most.
This weekend, we’re sharing stories from members of our community whose cancer journeys reflect what it truly means to survive, to fight, and to thrive. Their stories remind us that optimism isn’t passive – it fuels the will to keep going and believe there’s more to look forward to.For them, being here in 24 Hour Town is proof of resilience. It’s why we ride.
Happy and grateful to be alive another day and satisfied with life to be able to share moments with friends & family and be able to ride my bike on trail out in the wilderness. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2023 after a CT scan for some abdominal pain revealed multiple tumors ranging from 6-14 cm throughout the left side of my body. Went through some dark days, but persisted through chemotherapy and radiation, and have been in remission for about a year and a half. Rode 24HOP in 2024 during chemotherapy and again in 2025 and looking forward to another year in 24 Hour Town with my renewed love of life and all that it brings.
Carlos
Hello!
I will be riding 24HOP solo in honor of my life partner, Jenine, who was diagnosed in July of 2023 with lymphoma, specifically Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), a very aggressive form of lymphoma.
After going through chemotherapy treatments in 2023, she was in remission for only 4 weeks before relapsing again in November of 2023. They then tried a new procedure called CAR-T cell therapy in April of 2024 after a few months of preparation, which included more chemotherapy, and many other complications with pain and side effects of treatments she was receiving. We were very hopeful and optimistic that this new therapy would work, but after only 2 months she relapsed once again, but it wasn’t discovered until 4 months after CAR T due to a misdiagnosis of symptoms she was having at the time.
At this point, the cancer had metastasized into her brain stem and trigeminal nerve, causing numbness and extreme pain on the entire right side of her face, creating issues with eating and being able to sleep and relax.
At this point, her doctors recommended a bone marrow transplant and we started looking for a donor. Eventually, her youngest son was identified as the best donor for her, so we started the long process of getting him and her ready for the transplant. It would be an agonizing long few months before the actual transplant could happen. While we were preparing for this, she went through 10 sessions of Radiation treatment to her facial area in order to shrink the cancer as much as possible before the transplant, several lumbar punctures to inject chemo drugs into her spinal fluid to also reduce the cancer there as much as possible, and multiple infusions of monoclonal antibodies and other immunotherapies.
Her bone marrow transplant was scheduled for February 28, 2025, but once again she had to endure 4 straight days of chemotherapy right before the transplant in order to reduce the number of cancer cells as much as possible. Fortunately, the transplant was a success and now she has been cancer free for almost 9 months and is starting to regain her strength and weight.
She is still not quite out of the woods yet, as her immune system was completely wiped out before the transplant, and it can take a couple of years for it to fully recover, so she is very susceptible to infections and illnesses. In addition, due to wiping out her immune system, she will need to receive all childhood vaccinations once again over the next two years. She has been fighting several infections since the transplant that come and go, but we are very hopeful that as her immune system recovers these will become nonexistent and will not reoccur.
To say that this has been an emotional roller coaster for the both of us is very much an understatement. There have been moments of emotional distress for both of us, but we have tried to stay positive throughout this entire process that has now lasted over 2.5 years. It was tough and almost unbearable at times, but she has remained strong and always knew she would eventually be cured. She still struggles with numbness on the right side of her face and some lingering effects of neuropathy in her extremities, but as she always says “I AM ALIVE AND THAT IS WHAT MATTERS MOST BECAUSE I AM NOT DONE LIVING”.
She is the strongest woman I know, and I am proud to know and love her as my partner in life. What I am doing this weekend riding 24HOP solo is nothing compared to what she has been through.
Bobby Lee