Andrew Caesar

Cancer knows no boundaries. It doesn’t respect yours. It doesn’t care. Cancer comes like a thief in the night and steals our lives, it strikes down our dreams, without warning, without reason. I have not had a child with cancer, but, I know - when the news hits that your child does have cancer, you go through that with them, into the surreal territory of an innocent child facing death, and your innocent family facing ultimate loss.

Children don’t know what death is – they haven’t had time, they haven’t had a childhood, and children facing cancer isn’t just children, its families, families like yours, like your neighbors, like your friends. No matter who you are or where you come from or what you do, if your child is diagnosed with cancer the world as you know cannot be the same.

That is where Candle Lighters comes in – to support children and their families dealing with cancer, dealing with the chemo, dealing with the clinics, the doctors, the diagnoses, the pokes, the prods, the testing, the radiation, the surgeries, the finances, and at the same time trying to give a childhood and have family with someone who may never see their eighth birthday.

There is nothing fair about this, nothing that makes sense about it, but Candle Lighters responds by providing a light in this darkness, a connection through the crisis, a place of shelter in this storm.

I am reaching out to you because in the next week I will be cycling some 700 miles to raise money for Candle Lighters – I ride to raise money to provide hope, support, and connection for hundreds of children and families struck with cancer every year. Please join me in this challenge by supporting Candle Lighters in their mission to provide that light in the darkness, and make a donation to Candle Lighters on behalf of my ride. I’m going to get out there to help light that candle and I hope you will join me to light it too!

Every dollar pledged will go toward the mission of Candlelighters For Children With Cancer, a non-profit organization that provides life-changing programs and services for families facing cancer across Oregon and SW Washington. You can support me by pledging per mile, and following my progress on the Ride for a Child 2023 Leaderboard.