Four Howick men are riding in Pedal4Prostate, a charity cycling event that raises funds for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
They have fittingly named their team “The 8 ball” and will be riding in the e-bike category for this year’s event.
One of the team members is Russel Dolan, a Howick businessman who runs a tree care business and supports the local Howick Coast Guard as a volunteer in his spare time. Russel has a huge passion for helping his community, family and friends in any way he can.
Accompanying him is Damon Jacobs, a former Howick/Pakuranga resident, and Rodney and his father Tony, who has had terminal prostate cancer for eight years. A few years ago Damon was diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer and was given a very short amount of time to live. However, his drive and determination to beat this and be around to watch his kids grow allowed him to battle on.
Damon formed a bond with Rodney and Tony when he became someone they could talk to when learning to cope with the fact Tony has a terminal illness, despite struggling with different cancers.
Through it all, the four men share one very important thing in common; they want to raise awareness about men’s health and to encourage regular and early testing for prostate cancer, which is why they will be competing together in the Pedal4Prostate event next month.
The event builds on the success of the previous two years and aims to be bigger than ever in 2019, as they are hoping to have 260 riders on the track.
The 196 cyclists who took part in last year’s event raised more than $137,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, to help increase public awareness of prostate cancer and improve New Zealand-based research with its diagnosis and treatment outcomes.
The event is on Sunday October 13 at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.
