POHR 2024 Spotlights: Janet Winston, Cyclist and Cancer Caregiver

Janet with the Winston tandem; Janet and her mom six months before she passed away.

We’re kicking off our 2024 Pan Ohio Hope Ride spotlights with a first-time rider, Janet Walbroehl Winston, who will be riding with her husband Christopher Winston on a 1999 Cannondale tandem bike, restored and remade especially for this event. 

“My husband had such a great time doing the ride, and I REALLY believe in this cause,” which is why Janet decided to join him for his second year as a Pan Ohio Hope Rider. She’s looking to make new friends, like he has, who share common interests. 

“It takes a lot of communication to ride a tandem, and our 30 years of marriage have been good training for this. I’m the stoker (on the back), so I don’t have to worry about anything except pedaling (and sometimes I might not even do that – just don’t tell my husband!).”

Like so many of us, she has a few close connections to cancer, including a grandfather who passed away before she was born. 

“My father developed colon cancer when I was in high school and dealt with recurrences of cancer over the next 25 years,” she says. “He died of metastatic brain cancer in 2012. My mom had skin cancer, CLL (Chronic Lymphoblastic Leukemia), and non-Hodgkins lymphoma.” That’s how Janet and her sister became dedicated caregivers, helping their parents. 

“We were known as the “fun family” at the cancer center and the hospital – laughing and joking together through the treatments. I lived about 10 minutes from my parents, so I was on call for emergencies late at night and on weekends.” Janet adds: “As stressful as it was, being one of their caregivers is something I’ll treasure. We got to share laughter and tears, and I got to witness their courage firsthand.”

Sadly, their mother passed away in 2019. Asked what she’d say to others given the chance, Janet said: “I was fortunate to live close to my parents, and they had access to first-class cancer treatment near where they lived. Not everyone is that lucky. Living with cancer is a stressful time; people shouldn’t have to stress about traveling hours to receive treatment. The Hope Lodges take away some of that stress and allow people with cancer to focus on getting better.”

Thank you, Janet, for joining us for the 2024 Pan Ohio Hope Ride. With your support, we can help end cancer as we know it, for everyone!

Mission Monday: Caregivers are heroes in the fight against cancer!

Caregivers are often unsung heroes in the fight against cancer. Caring for someone with cancer requires a lot of learning along with taking on new roles and tasks while simultaneously balancing existing responsibilities that can feel trivial in comparison (even though they’re not). Any day or every day can present challenges. Add to that the immediate physical and fiscal demands as well as worrying about the future, and you’re looking at a recipe for burnout – physical, mental, and emotional. 

This month is National Family Caregivers Month, offering us an opportunity to honor, celebrate, and give thanks to and for the precious people who step up their role as caregiver or step into the role for the first time. These heroes sometimes put their own lives on hold to care for loved ones fighting cancer. American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodges provide free overnight stays to cancer patients AND their family caregivers, alleviating the financial burden of paying for hotels when help is far from home as well as providing a support system for both parties. 

Cancer Caregivers: We see you, we appreciate you, and we think you’re super, but we know you’re NOT superhuman. Please make time to take care of yourselves – only then can you help your loved ones. As the poignant saying goes, “please put on your own oxygen mask before helping others.”

You can find a variety of helpful information, tips, and resources at cancer.org/caregiver. Thank you, caregivers, for all you do!