Blog
Where the money goes: researcher using LOWVELO funds to revolutionize treatment for solid tumors
Most people don’t have a positive reaction to seeing blood. But MUSC Hollings Cancer Center researcher Leonardo Ferreira, Ph.D. isn’t most people. “Every time I look at a drop of blood, I see cells screaming to be weaponized against cancer.” Ferreira’s lab hopes to bring CAR-T cell therapy, a game-changing treatment showing success in liquid tumors to solid tumors.
A clinical trial saved his life: LOWVELO performer cancer-free 15 years after terminal diagnosis
He didn’t feel sick at all. Nathan Calhoun was young, he was fit, he was in a brand-new relationship, he had just started a band and then he heard the words “You have cancer.” After noticing a spot on his neck, Nathan visited a dermatologist who gave him the news he never expected to hear – it was stage 3 melanoma. After the surgery, the news got worse. He was given four to six months to live. He still didn’t feel sick.
A million-dollar moment: LOWVELO riders deliver banner year for cancer research at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center
A new threshold has been crossed for LOWVELO – a $1 million threshold. LOWELO24 had more riders, more teams and more dollars raised than any ride in its six-year history. Participants – all 1,895 of them – combined to crush the previous fundraising record, collecting $1,002,000 for lifesaving cancer research at MUSC Hollings Cancer Center.
Married 43 years, LOWVELO rider honoring his late wife in a big way
It was a morning date that changed their lives. Jack Kopnisky and his wife Kathy were out to breakfast in New York, where they lived when she told her husband something didn’t feel right. A trip to the hospital and some testing confirmed that it was a seizure, and it had been caused by an astrocytoma in Kathy’s brain. Jack is now honoring his wife in a big way.
Breast cancer survivor fundraises for LOWVELO by teaching yoga
Kelsey Harrison isn’t a cyclist, but she’s still participating in this year’s LOWVELO event by teaching donation-based yoga classes. Harrison, who has been practicing yoga for over 10 years, teaches weekly classes at a local studio, but her primary focus is holding domestic and international retreats through the company she founded: Get Wild Retreats. Harrison said that yoga saved her life – in more ways than one.
It’s LOWVELO24 Glow Blue Week!
Join us as we light up MUSC Hollings Cancer Center in blue for LOWVELO24! Glow Blue Week includes special events, free registration for our Nov. 2 ride and fun giveaways all week long. Learn about all of the fun events happening around campus from. Sept. 30 through Oct. 3.
LOWVELO Impact: riders helping fund research to fight triple-negative breast cancer
As South Carolina’s only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center, the innovative research happening at Hollings impacts patients across the state and beyond. One of the people behind that lifesaving research is Hollings professor Philip H. Howe, Ph.D. Thanks to funding raised by LOWVELO riders, Howe’s research has the potential to change treatment strategies for patients with triple-negative breast cancer.
Finishing what her dad started: MUSC employee biking 50 miles in LOWVELO24
Her dad never had the chance to finish. After starting the 50-mile route in LOWVELO23, Henry Hardy had to drop out for health reasons. His strength inspired his daughter, Shannon Phelps. She has never biked in an organized ride, but plans to ride 50 miles in LOWVELO24 to honor her dad and finish what he started.
Volunteers keep the wheels turning to ensure a successful LOWVELO
Volunteer registration for LOWVELO24 is open. It takes between 300 and 500 volunteers for LOWVELO to roll smoothly. There are several opportunities to help out on ride day or with the preparations and events leading up to it. Volunteer MiShell Prati Cleveland shares her experience and why she loves participating.
Rider-raised dollars fund innovative hereditary cancer research
With 100% of all rider-raised funds benefiting cancer research, LOWVELO supports a wide variety of research projects as well as fellowships and scholarships to help train the next generation of cancer researchers. In 2022, Hollings Cancer Center researcher Caitlin Allen, Ph.D. was awarded $25,000 from LOWVELO for her project.
Riding for his dad: 23-mile rider dedicated to helping find a cure
After losing his father John to prostate cancer, Mark Kassouf wants to continue fighting for a cure so that other families won’t have to experience what he has in the last year.
A therapeutic experience: LOWVELO helps rider channel loss into positivity
It’s the call no one wants to receive. The one where you learn someone you love has cancer. And that news can be even more difficult to take when you live 700 miles away them. For Michael Naioti, that call came in December of 2018 when he learned his dad, John Naioti had been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
