The Tour of Hope is a bicycle relay from San Diego to Washington, D.C., a 3,300-mile journey intended to raise awareness about cancer research, prevention, and detection. One of the 25 participants in the October ride was cancer-survivor Meg Berté (MBA 2000), who rode a leg of some 800 miles despite the fact that her lungs, scarred from her treatments, were functioning at only 50 percent of capacity. Said Berté, who trained for four months to prepare for the Tour, “I never in a million years thought I would be on a bike again” (Los Angeles Times, October 3, 2005).

A former collegiate soccer player who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease in 1995, Berté saw the cancer return six months after she completed her initial treatment. She then enrolled in a clinical trial including chemotherapy, radiation, and a stem-cell transplant. After this second treatment, she was told by doctors that she would never again do competitive sports. But inspired by Lance Armstrong (who took part in various stages of the Tour of Hope) and by a growing body of research that says fitness may reduce cancer recurrence rates, Berté challenged herself. “To me, and to cancer survivors, especially athletes, we look to Lance and see that there are no limits.”

An investor-relations manager at Moore Capital Management, based in New York City, Berté also helps lead an orientation group for patients preparing for stem-cell transplants. “I love my job and my life,” she said. “But when I speak to these patients, that is when I am happiest and I feel that is what I am meant to do.”

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