David McWilliams

David is a senior at Towson University.  In the summer of 2012 he is riding with a group of college students on a 70 day, 4000+ mile bike ride from Baltimore to Seattle.

What is your connection with the cancer community?

My connection to the cancer community consists of having a number of friends, friends’ family members, and teachers fight the battle with cancer, some to lose, and some to win. The most direct connections where I have seen the horrors of cancer lie with my childhood friend, Ben Becker’s mother, Patty Becker who suffered from breast cancer, Ken Hovet a high school teacher and coach who succumbed to kidney cancer, and Howard Block who was my good friend Shaun Kravitz's step-father who passed away from colon cancer.  As I have been close to all three of these amazing individuals, in addition to all those unlisted, I have witnessed the pain and suffering brought to those afflicted and the friends and family members of the afflicted.

Why are you riding the 4K for Cancer?

The 4K for Cancer is the opportunity of a lifetime. Not for many years will I be able to dedicate this much time and effort to a good cause such as this, because of life and work restraints.  Thus, I find it incredibly important for me to seize this opportunity to travel and give service and hope, while having a truly life-changing experience.  I look forward, more than words can describe, to inspiring and giving hope to cancer sufferers, as well as meeting these unimaginably brave individuals who give all the energy they can to the fight for their lives.