Five cancer survivors set out to cross Senegal by bike and kayak
Vanesa Amigo, Irantzu Pinillos, Noemí Carrasco, Milena Amelibia and Marta García Bodí, chosen from more than 500 applicants in nine countries, will spend 17 days crossing Senegal, from Dakar to Casamance, starting on 24 November. It is the 12th Reto Pelayo Vida challenge, run with the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology. Their message: exercise is part of treatment too. The caveat: the benefits oncologists cite are estimates from several studies, not a guarantee for each patient.
A former Spanish gymnastics champion, a midwife from San Sebastián and three other women aged 42 to 47 who have all been through cancer. From 24 November they will spend 17 days crossing Senegal by mountain bike and kayak, from the coast of Dakar to the tropical landscapes of Casamance in the south.
They are Vanesa Amigo, Irantzu Pinillos, Noemí Carrasco, Milena Amelibia and Marta García Bodí, chosen from more than 500 applicants in nine countries. It is the 12th edition of Reto Pelayo Vida, organised by the Spanish insurer Pelayo with the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM).
Exercise as “one more treatment”
At the launch, oncologist Isabel Echavarría, scientific secretary of SEOM and a doctor at Madrid’s Gregorio Marañón Hospital, argued that sport should be part of treatment: “We have more and more data on the value of sport, both in preventing and in treating cancer.”
As reported by the Spanish news agency EFE, Echavarría said that, according to several studies, regular exercise could cut by up to 20% the risk of breast cancer coming back. That is an estimate from studies of many patients, not a promise for each case, and exercise adds to medical treatment rather than replacing it.
Two and a half weeks between coast and forest
The route mixes cycling and kayaking stages and demands physical and mental stamina. The five women are already preparing. They set off on 24 November and, when they come back, we will tell you how it went.
