By Martha Dobson, Target® Iditarod 2011 Teacher on the Trail™

Celebrating cancer survivors, High Point Regional Health System Hayworth Cancer Center sponsored a Cancer Survivor Celebration day September 24 with the Pink Heals Tour and keynote speaker, Lance Mackey.

Event organizers heard about Lance, 4 in a row Iditarod winner, on National Public Radio and invited him to speak at the kickoff breakfast. Bouts of rain didn’t discourage people who had dealt with much more challenging problems than rain could throw at them–pink shirts and survivor shirts colored the crowd.

Lance, 41 years old, shared the spark that first determined his path to becoming an Iditarod winner, his dream to see his parents cry tears of joy instead of tears of sadness. To become who he is today, Lance says he almost had to die. “The mind is a powerful tool, and the body will follow it if the mind is not in the right place.” Raised by parents who taught him he could do anything he set his mind to, doctors who said it was too dangerous for him to race again were told, “I can, and watch this.”  And Lance ran the Iditarod, starting the 2002 race with a feeding tube still in place. Saying he’s never understood the meaning of “can’t”, Lance told the crowd that “mentally and physically,” cancer is the toughest race he’s ever run. Winning the 2007 race, Lance saw his dad cry “ happy tears” at the burled arch.

North Carolina fans of Lance and of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race™ traveled from Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Mooresville to enjoy the opportunity to meet and talk with him in their home state.  Lance says his biggest challenge now is keeping his water bottle, a constant companion since throat cancer surgery, thawed when the temperature is -40°F. Insisting he is “just a normal guy”, Lance says he’ll continue to have fun running the race, and he’ll have a smile on his face when he gets to Nome.