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Badger Challenge Preview with Melissa Carr, cancer survivor and fundraiser · Ask The Experts

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  Thirteen ten Wiba Madison in the morning, Sean, pray well with you,
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  just about a month away from the Badger Challenge taking place Sunday, September twenty
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  fourth online Badger Challenge dot org. That's Badger Challenge dot organ. Joining us
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  in studio this morning, is Melissa or Melissa, how are you doing today?
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  I'm good, Sean. Thanks so much for having me here today.
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  It's exciting to have you back in having you back in person. How different
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  things have changed over the past couple of years. Yes, absolutely, So
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  You've got what's interesting is so you've got a very interesting story, as everybody
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  we've we've had a chance to talk with with Badger Challenge. Very interesting story,
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  interesting background. Let's talk about how you became involved in the Badger Challenge
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  and why this is something you're so passionate about today. So I started with
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  a Badger Challenge in the very first year because I saw the advertisements for this
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  bike event to fund cancer research. And I lost my mom to cancer in
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  nineteen ninety eight, and I had always looked for a way to honor her
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  memory and to do something good in her memory, and this event just seemed
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  like the perfect way to do that and to raise some money for a cancer
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  research in right here in Madison. Are you a cyclist by perfect? Yes?
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  But is that your is that is this something of you outside of the
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  badge of channel It is? Yeah, I'm a runner and a cyclist,
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  And so it was really cool to see a bike event just, you know,
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  for any cause in Madison, Because there aren't as many bike events as
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  there are running events. Usually it's a little harder to find those. And
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  so to find something that was so perfect and for such a good cause and
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  something that I really believed in was really wonderful. And so we talked a
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  little bit about about originally getting involved honor your mom and a great opportunity to
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  really help with cancer research. And then this hit home even further for you,
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  didn't it. Yeah, it did. So, like you said,
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  I'd always been a participant in memory of my mom. And then in twenty
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  twenty two, I was also diagnosed with actually two kinds of cancer. I
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  have a genetic mutation that predisposes me to cancer that was found, you know,
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  when I was diagnosed with these two kinds of cancers. So then I
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  became a patient at Carbone Cancer Center, which you know, At first was
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  really surreal because how many times have I typed Carbone Cancer Center onto Facebook to
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  raise money for Badger Challenge. But then also it was really comforting because they've
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  just been so good to the community and so wonderful through this event, and
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  so it's so good to know that I was getting the very best care there
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  when I was diagnosed with cancer as well. And let's talk a little bit
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  about your experience at the Carbone Cancer Center. I mean we've talked obviously,
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  we've had the doctors on and some other other survivors as well that have hadn't
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  had the opportunity to be treated by the Carbone Cancer Center. What is that
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  like as a patient? Obviously, as you mentioned, your background is something
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  you were supporting through the Badge Lenge previously and now you're now you're intimately involved
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  at what's that like as a patient? What's I mean, I've got to
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  guess it's got there's got to be a level of comfort there just knowing what
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  a great facility it is. Yeah, it's really it's unbelievable to have that
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  here so close. Like I hear stories about people with cancer who have to
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  drive hours and hours and hours to get their treatment, or who have to
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  travel, like get on an airplane and go somewhere else and stay in that
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  place while they're being treated. And we've got Carbone Cancer Center right here in
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  Madison, and that's so comforting to know that it's, you know, just
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  minutes away for most of us. And the care there is so wonderful.
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  The doctors are fantastic, and you know, it's when you first walk up
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  and you see those words Carbone Cancer Center, it's like, I can't believe
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  I'm here. But then when you walk through the doors, you know you're
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  getting world class care and that's really fun. So much of it is funded
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  through Badger Challenge and through participant fundraising, and so I'm very grateful for that.
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  Let me talk a little bit about fundraising in just a moment. Of
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  course, a Badger Challenge taking place Sunday, September twenty fourth. All the
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  details online Badger Challenge dot org. That's Badger Challenge dot org. Whether you're
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  a cyclist like Melissa, maybe your somebody likes to run, likes to walk,
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  maybe you're looking for some volunteer opportunity as well. Some great stuff all
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  up at Badger Challenge dot org. Time now to be getting your team together
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  and start start that process. And speaking of teams, your team go by
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  Team Wildflower. Is there is there a story behind that name. Yeah,
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  so in late summer in Wisconsin is when so many of our wildflowers are blooming
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  and we see them all along the trails, whether we're cycling or running or
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  walking to get ready for Badger Challenge. And when I see the Queen Anne's
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  lace in particular, it makes me think of my mom. I remember her
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  mentioning that and talking to me about it and telling us what it was.
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  We could identify it, and so that's why I named the team that.
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  And we're just out there trying to do our very best for cancer research and
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  looking at some of your your team's number is pretty impressive. You guys have
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  raised a lot of money. Let's talk a little bit about the folks that
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  are on your team with you. How many people are you have the same
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  people back year after year? Do you get new friends on board or a
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  little bit of both. Yeah, We've got people. Some people come back
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  every year, some people are new. I've got a family that just signed
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  up recently, just this week that's brand new to the team. So in
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  some years we've had a little over twenty members. Now we've had years where
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  we're over forty. So we've stayed pretty consistent in that range, and everybody
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  works really hard towards the same mission. I'll mention this, you've raised over
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  fifty thousand dollars. Am I seeing that right now? I personally over thirty
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  thousand? Okay, the team as a whole year, the team has raised,
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  Yeah, over fifty thousand totals. That is amazing. Yeah, let's
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  talk about the sense of community as well as somebody that's that's been part of
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  the Badger Challenge since it's inception. I've got to guess it's exciting to see
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  returning participants, but also exciting to meet new people, isn't it It is.
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  That's one of the greatest things about Badger Challenge. I mean, obviously,
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  first and foremost, we're raising money for cancer research, and that money
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  goes, you know, directly to researchers. But the community that they've built
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  is fantastic. I the Badger Challenge Day is one of my favorite days of
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  the year because you're surrounded by people who have the same the same passion for
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  cancer research funding, people who want to do something great for their community.
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  I see so many people while i'm there, people that I've known for a
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  long time, people that I've just met. Last year. On my team,
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  I had people from my childhood, I had family, I had people
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  I had just recently met through various activities that I'm involved in, and so
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  it's really it's such a wide range of people and it's just so exciting to
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  see everybody and just feel that it's like a giant community hug all coming together
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  and that's great. That is a great way to describe it. Talking this
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  morning with Melissa car she is a participant with Badger Challenge. More online Badger
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  Challenge dot org. That's Badger Challenge dot org. It's going to play Sunday,
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  September twenty fourth. All the details for getting registered your team, whether
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  you're a cyclist, whether you run or walker again, volunteer opportunities as well
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  up at the website Badger Challenge dot org. That's Badger Challenge dot org.
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  You mentioned some things that are exciting. Sometimes people get excited to come into
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  radio stations. I know kiddos love doing it. I had the kiddos in
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  with you this morning. Do they participate do they I know it's obviously a
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  family event. Do they do they take part as well? Yeah? They
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  have a lot of years. We always have to kind of wait for soccer
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  schedules to come out. I know a lot of parents can relate to that,
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  but yeah, they've participated several years. Last year we all participated as
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  a family, and because I had just had my cancer surgery, I couldn't
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  bike last year, I had to walk, So I was grateful for that
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  walk option, and my family and I all got across the finish line together
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  and it was really meaningful, fantastic. Well, we look forward to hearing
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  about all the results and all the great fundraising and again a great day to
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  get out and enjoy not only Madison, but really doing it for a good
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  cause. As I didn't realize this Melissa about how few cycling events there are
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  in town. A great opportunity to get out to practice which you love,
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  and get together with friends and know what's going for a fantastic cause, the
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  u W Carbone Cancer Center and their research. Again more information online Badger Challenge
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  dot org. That's all one word Badger Challenge dot org. We taking places
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  about a month from now Sunday, September twenty fourth. Now is the time,
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  though, to start getting that stuff put together, start getting your team
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  together, and of course I start to getting getting some fundraising going. So
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  I'm Melissa. It is great to see you. You enjoy this day and
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  I don't be a stranger. Look forward to seeing it again real soon.
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  Sounds great, Thanks for having me. News is next here on thirteen ten Wida