Ride to combat cancer
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Christopher Fretta, 24, of the Castleton Fire Department, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, which is in remission. The Red Knights Motorcycle Club is staging a benefit at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Rutland Regional Medical Center to raise money to help others survive the same sort of blood-related cancers. BENEDICT HUDSON / RUTLAND HERALD |
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By Brent Curtis Staff Writer - Published: August 14, 2009
When Castleton firefighter Christopher Fretta was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma last year, the 24-year-old said he was amazed at the level of support he received from his fellow firefighters and others in the community.
On Sunday afternoon, Fretta, whose cancer is in remission, will join his fellow firefighters in a fundraising ride to help others survive the same sort of blood-related cancers.
“This has been something I wouldn’t wish on anyone,” Fretta said. “You don’t realize what you’ve got in friends and family until something like this happens. That’s why if I can help anyone else get through this I will.”
To help others, Fretta will be part of an escort for the “Red Knights Ride for Cancer” — a fleet of motorcycles and fire trucks that will ride from Rutland Regional Medical Center to Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Route 22A in West Haven.
The ride kicks off at 5:15 p.m.
Chapter 3 of the Red Knights — a motorcycle club made up of firefighters — will lead the procession, but all are welcome to sponsor or ride with the group. All fire departments along the route, including the city, Rutland Town, Clarendon, Wallingford, Benson, West Rutland, Castleton, Fair Haven and West Haven, will send at least one truck to escort the motorcycles.
The ride will raise money for the medical center’s marrow donor program — the only program of its kind in New England, according to hospital officials — which tests potential donors for free instead of the usual $100 fee required for prospective donors elsewhere.
“We don’t believe when you’re trying to save someone’s life that you should have to pay to do it,” said Kerry Ellis, the marrow program coordinator.
Funds raised from events such as the Red Knights’ ride are used to cover costs that the prospective donors would otherwise have to pay for.
Fretta, who is recovering from a year’s worth of chemotherapy, was fortunate not to need a bone marrow transplant — although such a procedure may be necessary if the cancer returns.
Bone marrow transplants are sometimes a cancer patient’s only hope of survival, Ellis said. But finding a suitable match is far harder than finding matches for blood or organ donors, she said. Every day, there are more than 6,000 people in the United States searching for a bone marrow match.
“It’s a slim chance, that’s why it’s important to have a large pool of donors to increase the odds of finding a match,” Ellis said.
When the ride ends at Devil’s Bowl, riders will be welcome to participate in a parade around the speedway and then stick around for free — it will be Biker’s Night at Devil’s Bowl so riders and passengers will be admitted free to the grandstands.
Donations from gate receipts at the speedway on Sunday will benefit the Rutland Area Visiting Nurse and Hospice as part of the race track’s annual Judith L. Richards Memorial Night.
There will also be a silent auction on autographed sports memorabilia at the race track.
Those interested in sponsoring a rider can call 747-6267 or make arrangements the day of the ride.
brent.curtis@rutlandherald.com
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