Tonic and Ethan Zohn: Cycling for Survival

Tonic joined Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn yesterday to help raise $2.2 million for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in the annual Cycle for Survival event in New York City.

The event, started in 2007 by cancer patient Jennifer Goodman Linn, raises money for rare forms of cancer — defined by the National Institutes of Health as any cancer that effects fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Taken altogether, "rare" seems an odd choice of words, since more than half of all cancers fall into this category, including brain cancer, cervical cancer and all forms of pediatric cancer.

Zohn, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last year, attended the event against doctors’ orders (sort of) — since he has been told to avoid large crowds while his immune system recovers from recent treatment — but we admire his tenacity in representing the cause. He took some time to talk with Tonic afterward, telling us why Cycle for Survival is such a great way to support cancer research:

"Anyone can ride a stationary bike, so it’s a perfect way to have fun, get some exercise and help those with cancer," he says.

While Team Tonic could only muster seven riders, "[Team Ethan] had the full eight," he told us. "We didn't concentrate on fundraising until the last minute, but managed to raise close to 2K."

Ethan was so inspired by the turnout — a packed house of 400 teams showed up at the Equinox gym — that when he got home, he kept up the pace. "I changed my clothes and rode the bike in my gym for 45 minutes," he says. "Longest since I got home from hospital."

Here at Tonic, we think Ethan is the inspirational one.

Thanks to Zohn and other celebrities — including SNL head writer Seth Meyers, former New York Knicks star John Starks, former NBA All-Star Chris Mullin and Jenna Morasca, the winner of Survivor: The Amazon — Cycle for Survival managed to raise $2.2 million, almost double last year’s total, making it the biggest success to date. That figure includes two New York events, and a Chicago cycle that will be held on February 6.

Each year since its inception in 2007, Cycle for Survival has come close to doubling in size. With the addition of Chicago this year, the program has plans to expand even further in 2011, eventually hoping to become a nationwide event.

The funds are allocated according to the decision of a committee headed by Robert Wittes, MSK’s physician in chief. A portion will be set aside for the Sarcoma department, as Cycle for Survival founder Linn has MFH Sarcoma. Linn has had cancer four times already, and was recently diagnosed again. She starts another round of chemotherapy on Tuesday.

Last year, funds were used for clinical tests of drugs, a research project regarding the relation of gene patterns and cancer treatment, studying the biology of a rare type of tumor and the development of drugs to treat pancreatic cancer.

With the help of many people in the spotlight, Cycle for Survival is becoming a mainstay in cancer research funding, and is the fastest growing fundraising event in the country. We here at Tonic are proud to have participated in such a great event for an extremely important cause and hope to see many more of you out to support to Cycle for Survival next year.

Photo of Ethan Zohn courtesy Jenna Morasca.

Photo of Zohn with Team Tonic courtesy Rebecca Goldstein.