A trained endurance athlete, George Fetko looked at cancer the same way he looks at cycling. He put his head down, cranked up the speed and moved forward.
After being diagnosed last year with a form of sarcoma that usually affects children, Fetko, 56, went through a long, rigorous and largely experimental cancer treatment.
I remember the day well. I gathered with a group of local cyclists at Phil’s Cycle Ward in downtown Boca Raton to talk with Fetko before starting what we all feared would be the fight of his life.
He had more than 200 appointments with doctors for infusions, tests, labs, surgeries and hospital stays. He spent 60 days doing 8-hour chemo infusions. He went through 31 radiation treatments and eight blood transfusions.
If you go by the intensity and the timeframe in which treatment was delivered, Fetko endured more chemotherapy than any patient in the world. Now, he’s in remission and he’s back cycling on A1A. He’s participating in the Dolphin Cycling Challenge, a two-day fundraiser that benefits the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. One hundred percent of all proceeds from the tri-county event goes toward cancer research.
“I will not let battling cancer impair my passion for cycling,” Fetko writes on his fundraising page. “More than ever, I am inspired than to participate and support the Dolphin’s Cycling Challenge…”
Fetko’s first hospitalization for treatment was at the Sylvester Cancer Center. He says the doctors and staff there provided quality and thoughtful care, going so far as to make special arrangements with treatment timing so that he could continue to ride on a trainer during treatments. He vowed then that he would come back and tackle the challenge.
Fetko founded Team Wilky as a tribute to his oncologist, Dr. Breelyn Wilky. To sponsor his ride, which runs Feb. 7-8, make a tax-deductible donation atridedcc.racepartner.com/DCCV/georgefetko.
For more information about the Dolphin’s Challenge, or to sign up and ride for charity, go to: ridedcc.com.
