Reverand Mel Macarthur describes himself as a transcontinental cyclist. He has completed several extensive rides across the world, and plans to finish circumnavigating the globe by 2008.
This is made all the more remarkable by the fact that this same person was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 2004.
Mel works his excursions and training around three-monthly infusions of MabThera, the new anti-body treatment for NHL.
He credits the revolutionary drug for enabling him to fight this disease while continuing to carry out his goals without the debilitating side-effects of chemotherapy.
Mel began his journey in 1998 with a daunting cycle from Dublin, Ireland to Jerusalem, Israel followed by one around the South Island of New Zealand.
Since his diagnosis of NHL in 2004 Mel has completed numerous bicycle journeys in Australia, including Sydney to Uluru in 2006 where he departed from the Nepean Centre where he receives his treatment.
Mel’s training involves weekend road rides on a circuit between Mount Victoria and Lithgow with climbs across Hassans Walls and Mount Victoria Pass.
Mel plans to complete the North America leg of the journey from San Francesco, California to Charleston, South Carolina between August and November this year. His son Andrew has been training with him for the past few months and will accompany him on the ride.
Mel will then cycle a mammoth journey from Moscow, Russia, to the boarder of Mongolia next year, followed by the final leg from Perth to Sydney in September 2008.
Mel also has a passion for literature and theatre, and shares his inspirational stories with the community through presentations on ‘living with cancer’.
