For the third year in a row, Stacey Flamm rode one hundred virtual miles on a cycle to raise funds for ovarian-cancer research in memory of her mother, Debbie Green Flamm. The event: Ovarian Cycle. The place: the Midtown Athletic Club at Windy Hill in Atlanta. The time: all day, for six grueling hours. Like many participants, Stacey trained about six weeks before her final ride on April 16.
This year, two of her cousins, Ashley Popkin and Lauren Marx, joined her tribute. The three comprised a team named after Stacey's mom called the Little Debbies. This group of women was part of the top-grossing team at the Ovarian Cycle final ride. Collectively, they raised $9,842.
The Atlanta-based organization now includes New York, Birmingham, Tallahassee, Seattle, and Atlanta. Altogether, Ovarian Cycle locations have raised $310,734.98. Proceeds go to Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, the Ovarian Cancer Institute, and the Norma Livingston Foundation.
Stacey Flamm is a third-grade assistant teacher at Pace Academy in Atlanta; Lauren Marx works in the psychology department at Emory University and is a PhD candidate this fall at Emory University; and Ashley Popkin creates websites for PlayNation in Canton, Georgia. The three women have been close since childhood and they couldn’t think of a better tribute to their aunt and mother than to participate in this spring event.
“The only way we can save women’s lives is to find a reliable test for an early diagnosis,” reports Ovarian Cycle Founder Bethany Diamond. “These girls know that. That’s why they participate and sacrifice weekends to train.”
This year, twenty-one thousand women will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Of that number, thirteen thousand will NOT survive. Usually symptoms don’t present themselves until it’s too late. To learn more about Ovarian Cycle, go to www.ovariancycle.org.
