Geoff Buckle

Riding the Leadville 100 MTB for Livestrong

For the past four years, I’ve had the privilege of caring for patients as a medical oncologist at UCSF. My path into cancer care started long before that. In 2007, I began working as a clinical research coordinator at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, an experience that shaped the direction of my life. Since then, most of my professional work has focused on improving cancer care and trying to reduce the burden of cancer both in the United States and around the world.

Along the way, I’ve been fortunate to care for patients whose cancers we’ve cured. Those moments are incredibly meaningful.

But oncology also means confronting the limits of modern medicine. I often think about the patients we’ve lost. I remain in touch with many of their families, and those relationships stay with you. They shape how you see the work and why it matters.

At UCSF I care for patients with gastrointestinal cancers, and over the past several years I’ve been seeing a growing number of young adults facing cancer—many of whom are around my own age. Their resilience is remarkable, but their diagnoses bring challenges that extend far beyond the cancer itself.

One issue that has become especially meaningful to me is fertility preservation.

The treatments we prescribe can save lives, but they can also carry unintended consequences, including infertility. Despite this, fertility preservation is still not covered by many insurance plans for patients about to undergo cancer therapy.

As a father to Bode (5½) and Koda (3), this hits close to home. Becoming a dad is easily the best thing that has ever happened to me. It’s impossible not to think about what it would mean for someone facing cancer to also have to wonder whether they’ll ever get the chance to build a family.

The last thing someone should have to worry about during a life-threatening illness is whether they can afford the chance to have children someday.

That’s one of the reasons I’m riding the Leadville Trail 100 MTB, a 100-mile mountain bike race that starts in Leadville, Colorado at over 10,000 feet. It’s a tough race, and training for it while balancing work and a young family will be challenging. But the truth is, that challenge pales in comparison to what many of my patients face every single day. Their strength and resilience are a constant source of inspiration for me.

I’m riding in support of LIVESTRONG, an organization that continues to provide critical support for people affected by cancer.

Funds raised help support programs such as:

• Fertility preservation support for young adults diagnosed with cancer who hope to build families in the future

• LIVESTRONG at the Y, which provides free fitness and wellness programs to help survivors regain strength after treatment. We’re learning more and more that programs like this not only improve quality of life but may also reduce cancer recurrence, as shown in the CHALLENGE study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

• Ellis, LIVESTRONG’s AI-powered resource that helps connect patients and families with trusted information and support when they need it most

Cancer survivors need our support now more than ever.

If you’re able, I hope you’ll consider supporting my ride with a donation to LIVESTRONG. Every contribution helps ensure these programs remain free and accessible to the patients, survivors, and families who rely on them.

Thanks for reading, and for being part of this effort.

Geoff Buckle