EAGLE POINT, Ore. –Losing a child to cancer is every parent’s worst nightmare, but one local dad is now biking to make a difference.
Eagle Point resident Sarah Wood was diagnosed with brain cancer during her junior year of high school.
Her dad, Eric began taking part in the Great Cycle Challenge to raise money to fight children’s cancer.
While Sarah lost her battle with the disease in 2020 at just 23, Eric still rides on in memory of his daughter.
For the month of September, Eric has set a goal of biking 200 miles.
And he’s almost there.
He’s fighting to raise money so that more research can be done on how radiation and chemotherapy impact kids’ developing bodies.
He says he has found that doctors and nurses were frustrated that most children’s cancer treatments were based on adult protocols because of a lack of funds going toward children’s cancer.
“The thing is as a parent to a child with cancer is you feel helpless because you can’t protect them from this despicable disease. Butt it makes it feel like I’m doing something because it’s hard to lose a child to cancer,” Sarah’s dad, Eric Wood said.
Over his five years of riding to fight cancer, Eric has raised over $11,000.
He is at $1,700 so far this year with a few days left to try and hit his $4,000 goal.
If you want to support Eric in his efforts, you can visit greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricWood1.
A link to the page can also be found on his Facebook page.
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