Jenna Eisenberg’s quest to find a cure for her mother’s disease continues.
Eisenberg is the founder of the Ovarian Cycle Chicago fundraiser, which benefits the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance. Scheduled for 2-5 p.m. April 17 at Bannockburn’s Midtown Athletic Club, the event brought in more than $50,000 in its first year and more than $60,000 in 2015, Eisenberg said.
Registration remains open, but the participation list is growing. Her mother is in good health these days, but Jenna said she hopes to push the limits of research until better testing and medications are found. Go to ovariancycle.kintera.org/chicago2016 for more information.
Q: You’ve faced the specter that most people fear: losing a parent. What is it like to look at your mother, know she’s dying, and then watch her recover —twice? What is it like to get your mom back?
A: That’s a really interesting question. While my mom was going through chemotherapy, and facing the battle, we were all really positive. Her mortality wasn’t really something we thought about. Now, you’ll hear all these stories, and you hear the actuality of ovarian cancer and how deadly it is, and you’re like “Oh, this is a potential future,” which is really scary. That’s what motivates me. When that time comes, I want there to be this great medical discovery, so that ovarian cancer isn’t as scary as it is right now. So many people don’t even know about ovarian cancer or the symptoms. Lots of people don’t know they have ovarian cancer growing in them, until it’s too late.
Q: You’ve got more space this year . . . besides the symbolic achievement of the event growing, will there be anything else advantageous about moving to the gym? Or do you think you’ll miss the cycling room?
A: The small cycling room definitely had an intimate feel to it, because we were all on top of each other. In the gym, more people will be able to come in and move around, which means teammates will be able to cheer cyclists on.
Q: Every start-up event has hang ups. Your event is dealing with a lot of money, food, volunteers, exercise equipment and more. What’s a funny goof-up that you look back on and laugh about?
A: The only thing is the first year, we had these balloons, and they were in our colors, teal, orange and white. But when they put the fans on, they were blowing around and getting in everybody’s way. We had to cut them down. It wasn’t feasible, once we started riding.
Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago.
Twitter: @RonnieAtPioneer
More Top Picks Viewsonic Pjd7720hd