Employees ride with heart for cancer patients around the world - Bristol Myers Squibb - Our stories
Our people
In 2022:
employees
participated
nations participated
in four regional rides
miles
covered
raised for the V Foundation for Cancer Research in the United States, Union for International Cancer Control in Europe and Latin America, and CancerNet Japan.
Employees ride with heart for cancer patients around the world
What do the Cs stand for in C2C4C?
Depending on the locations of the rides, the first two Cs in the name can represent coast to coast, country to country or continent to continent. But the third C, which is for cancer, remains constant because it is the heart of the mission.
Employees ride with heart for cancer patients around the world
There’s a night on each leg of the annual C2C4C bicycle ride when Bristol Myers Squibb employees share stories about who they’re riding for: loved ones and patients who have faced cancer with bravery and determination, even against the toughest of odds.
Sometimes they’re babies, not yet able to walk but who have already run away with their parents’ hearts.
Sometimes they’re teenagers, ready to dive headfirst into adulthood even though they’re not quite ready for the deep end.
Sometimes they’re parents, whose children have finally realized they do know what they were talking about.
Sometimes they’re friends, who have always supported even the wildest dreams.
They’re the people who inspire employees to get through the ride, to make it over the hills they must climb, through the rains they can’t dodge and beyond the broiling sun they can’t escape.
Employees also get inspiration from each other — not just because they work together, but because they’re teammates on the ride and in the fight against cancer. They know what it’s like to need a shoulder to lean on and to provide one to someone else.
The annual event is a reminder that patients are at the center of what BMS does every day. They’re the reason employees in Oncology were inspired to create the Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer bicycle ride in 2014 to raise money for nonprofits that fund cancer research.
They’re the reason C2C4C has expanded from the United States to Europe, Japan and Latin America.
And they’re the reason more than $14 million has been raised by the employee-driven event for nonprofits around the world that benefit cancer research.
C2C4C 2023 at a glance
From September through December, nearly 350 BMS employees will be cycling throughout the world to raise money to help cancer patients:
Europe:
Sept. 1-18, 96* cyclists pedaling about 2,200 kilometers in several countries
United States:
Sept. 7-Oct. 3, 125* cyclists riding about 3,000 miles
Japan:
Sept. 21-Oct. 11, 70* cyclists traveling 2,100 kilometers)
Latin America:
Dec. 2-13, 55* cyclists riding 1,500 kilometers in Chile
*numbers are approximate
Jana Low: From founding member and rider to patient and survivor
Jana Low rode C2C4C with several names written on her jersey. They included coworkers and family members who faced cancer. She rode for them and for herself, because Low’s a cancer survivor, too.
Low, who is regional business director, Hematology, Central East U.S., was one of the Oncology employees who helped create C2C4C nine years earlier. She served as operations manager for the inaugural event and helped convince 55 riders to pedal coast to coast from Connecticut to California in May of that year.
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Those riders got together and got in shape. I don’t think they knew what they were getting into, but it was about to become much bigger than just a bike ride.” |
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Jana Low, Regional Business Director, Hematology, Central East U.S. |
The employee-led event has gained the attention and appreciation of countless cancer patients who riders meet along the route. Low recalls meeting a man who lost a leg to sarcoma, and he asked if he could talk with BMS employees before they left their hotel one morning. The inspirational story he shared about his cancer journey stayed with riders for the rest of the route and beyond.
Low knows the work that goes into preparing for C2C4C. In 2017, she was selected to ride. She trained hard but was unable to finish. Five years later, after a cancer diagnosis and successful treatment, Low was back. She helped lead the team in the final stages through Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the finish line.
One ride illustrates the experience shared around the world
No matter what state, country or continent riders are biking through, their experience is similar. There’s excitement, exhaustion and sometimes pain. But there is also beauty, support and love, both in the sights that riders soak in and the emotions they let out.
The memories from the 2022 Country 2 Country 4 Cancer event illustrate that perfectly. Over 18 days, six teams comprised of more than 90 cyclists rode 2,200 kilometers (about 1,367 miles) from Munich, Germany, to Brussels, Belgium. The scenery was breathtaking: a horse galloped alongside them for a bit and the hills they conquered were exhausting. But they were fueled by their own experiences with cancer.
Neil Archer from Team Germany remembers his family’s “brush with this terrible disease” when his aunt died when she was young. “I’ll never forget the pain on my grandmother’s face,” he said.
Marius Ruetering was riding for his mom, who’s been fighting cancer for five years. Although they live hundreds of kilometers apart, he feels close to her when he’s on his bike. “That gives me a lot of strength,” said Ruetering, a member of Team Germany. “And I hope it gives her the strength, as well.”