Racing for a cause

Gardendale resident Andy Cardoza takes his bicycle from Gardendale to Odessa several times a week — all for the fight against cancer.
He rides roughly 25 miles from FM 1788 along Highway 191 and back up to Gardendale via the loop in preparation for the Lance Armstrong Live Strong Challenge in Austin Oct. 25. During the challenge, Cardoza will ride his bike 65 miles starting just west of the capital city.
“There is hope someday to finally cure this, and I hope this effort will help,” Cardoza said.
He said he is seeking donations from friends and others and hopes to get $5,000. Though he hasn’t reached that level yet, he said he’s still pleased with the roughly $3,000 he has received so far.
“It’s what this is all about, and I’m amazed at the number of sponsors just for my ride,” Cardoza said.
The challenge is personal for Cardoza in more ways then one.
He rode in high school but quit when he left to go to California after graduation. But, he later took up riding and moved back, ultimately losing 45 pounds with the goal of getting in shape again.
For around the past year, the goal changed to riding against cancer because of how the disease touched him personally. He said the awareness aspect alone makes the training worth it.
“This can happen to anybody,” Cardoza said.
His grandfather, mom and uncle all have had cancer battles. His grandfather died of the disease in 1984. Most recently, an uncle passed away in October 2007, spurring Cardoza on to fight against cancer.
“That was hard. We were very close,” he said.
In the midst of breast cancer awareness month, Andy said his own mom, Mary Ann Cardoza, survived breast cancer after a diagnosis in 1991.
“Catching it early is important. We caught my mom’s early enough, but if it had been later, it could have spread,” Andy said. “Once my uncle was diagnosed, it was already in the later stages.”
Mary Ann Cardoza said her son updates her constantly about his progress.
“The effort he is putting in means so much. I am so proud of him,” she said.
In her case, Mary Ann said she assumed cancer meant a definite death sentence. When she was diagnosed, she was just reeling from another personal tragedy, the death of another son. Thus, she almost felt numb at the news of the disease.
“I didn’t really care if I died until my husband told me I had two more kids. Then I wanted to live, and I’ve seen six weddings and grandchildren since that time,” she said.
She said she will travel to Austin to see how her son performs.
“My husband and I will be there to cheer him on. This is a biggie for us,” she said.

DONATIONS
>> Andy Cardoza is training for the cancer-fighting bicycle race, the Live Strong ® Challenge in Austin. Donations can be made online at http://austin09.livestrong.org/acardoza.