Guest guest Posted August 3, 2008 Report Share Posted August 3, 2008 Cyclist spreads word about Kanzius By EMILY BABAY emily.babay@... Published: August 02. 2008 6:00AM People across the country have felt the effects of cancer, and Zach Dunbar has heard many of their stories. Dunbar, who graduated from the Erie First Christian Academy this year, began a cross-country bike trip June 13 in San Francisco to raise money for the Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation. He is slated to complete the trek today, pedaling into Square from Conneaut, Ohio, at about noon. During his 3,800-mile trip, Dunbar spoke to people about Kanzius' work, handed out flyers and encouraged people to donate. At each stop, he said, people told him about struggles with cancer, their own or those of a loved one. Dunbar fell short of his goal of raising $10,000. He said he raised about $1,000 in road donations. More have been mailed in, he said, bringing the total to about $4,000. But Dunbar said the trip had a purpose beyond raising funds -- spreading good news about the potential of Kanzius' device. The progress of the research " has given a lot of people hope, " Dunbar said. Dunbar's girlfriend, Laci Hoobler, drove behind him for most of the trip. Her father, Randy, biked from San Francisco to Utah with Dunbar, and her mother, , who biked from Utah. Hoobler also said she enjoyed promoting Kanzius' work. " The ones that didn't know about it, they couldn't hear enough, " she said. The cyclists rode about 70 miles a day, Dunbar said, with quite a few 100-mile days. The toughest part, he said, was hitting the humidity upon entering Kansas -- a sharp contrast to the West's dry heat. Kanzius, a Millcreek Township inventor, has developed an external radio-frequency generator that he hopes will be used to treat cancer. The principal researcher for the device, at Houston's M.D. Cancer Center, announced last week that Erie would host human trials, if the federal government approves them. Dunbar said he was glad to hear the announcement and said the promise of the treatment spurred his decision to raise funds. " With this being as far as it is, I think it was a good thing to jump into and try to help, " he said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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