Cyclist, Cancer Survivor Lance Armstrong Named M.D. Anderson’s 2002 “Living Legend”

In keeping with the tradition of world leaders and well-known individuals with one-of-a-kind life stories, world-renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong will be the featured guest for “A Conversation with a Living Legend.” The annual luncheon pairs well-known celebrities in interviews with some of the country’s top journalists. The event raises funds for The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and takes place Dec. 9 at the Wyndham Anatole Hotel.

The four-time Tour de France victor and three-time Olympian’s life experiences have included high points of personal achievement as well as a difficult period when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. A luncheon crowd of more than 1,500 people will listen as Armstrong talks about his story with CNN anchor Paula Zahn.

ExxonMobil and Texas Capital Bank are presenting this year’s luncheon. Proceeds from the event will support testicular cancer research and national distribution of a skin cancer prevention educational module, which M.D. Anderson plans to supply to elementary and middle schools.

Since 1990, the event has raised more than $3.6 million to fund numerous cancer research initiatives and patient programs at M.D. Anderson.

“We have been patiently waiting for a few years to be able to honor Lance Armstrong as the true living legend that he is, and we are elated that he will be joining us to support M.D. Anderson and tell the amazing account of his life,” said event chair Jody Grant, who also has served on M.D. Anderson’s Board of Visitors since 1997.

Born in Plano, Texas in 1971, Armstrong excelled in athletics early, winning the Iron Kids’ Triathlon at 13 years old. Although he became a professional triathlete by age 16, cycling emerged as his true sports love. His official Web site biography states, “Long rides on Saturdays frequently took him to the Oklahoma border, where he had bicycled so far away from home he would have to call his mother to come and pick him up.”

In his professional cycling career, Armstrong has won the world’s most grueling, prestigious cycling races, including the most famous of them all, the Tour de France. He is the first American to win four consecutive Tour de France races, including this year’s race. Armstrong’s 1999 victory came after his 18-month battle with testicular cancer that had metastasized to his brain and lungs.

News of the cancer motivated him to create the Lance Armstrong Foundation to help enhance the quality of patients’ lives during and after treatment and to secure funding for research. Since its 1997 founding, the foundation has awarded more than $3.7 million to survivorship programs and research efforts across the nation. M.D. Anderson projects have been among those supported by the organization.

Paula Zahn anchors CNN’s “American Morning With Paula Zahn.” She began her career in news 23 years ago at Dallas’ WFAA-TV and spent subsequent years at stations in San Diego, Houston, Boston and Los Angeles. Her network career spans morning shows on CBS and ABC and a news analysis program on the Fox News Channel. Among her journalism honors is a 1994 Emmy for Outstanding Coverage of a Continuing News Story, celebrating her reports on mainstreaming the mentally disabled into education. She also has reported extensively on breast cancer.

Past celebrities honored as Living Legends are Nolan Ryan, Tom Landry, Walter Cronkite, Arnold Palmer, Margaret Thatcher, Barbara Bush, Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Henry Kissinger, Gen. Colin Powell, former President George Bush, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Van Cliburn.

For more information, call M.D. Anderson at 1-800-525-5841 or (713) 792-3450.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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