About 70 cancer patients gathered at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei yesterday morning before setting off on a 10-day cycling trip around Taiwan — an annual event held by the Taiwanese Anti-Cancer Association.
The cycling trip, titled “Unbeatable rider, 1,000km challenge,” is held each year to encourage cancer patients to exercise more often, to have courage and the will to go ahead in fulfilling their life dreams, as well as to fight cancer bravely, the association said.
The cycling event, in its fifth year, began yesterday when President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) fired the starting shot.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei
Dozens of cyclists are expected to complete the roughly 1,100km trip in 10 days, arriving back to Taipei on Nov. 10.
In his opening speech, Ma said that cancer has been the No. 1 killer of Taiwanese for 10 years, adding that about 46,000 people died of cancer last year, accounting for more than a quarter of the total number of deaths in Taiwan last year.
“Cancer is not an incurable disease,” Ma said, adding that more than one-third of cancer cases can be treated, so cancer patients should have faith in themselves.
He said that studies have proven that exercise can stimulate the brain, boost a person’s mood, and improve students’ memories and concentration.
Event participant Huang Wei-wen (黃偉文), who was diagnosed with colon cancer three years ago, said he was also diagnosed with depression five months after his cancer diagnosis, but he gradually improved his health by changing his diet and using exercise to relieve stress.
He said that he is participating in the cycling trip as a way of fulfilling one of his dreams.
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