Cancer survivor has leg up on fellow Courage Classic riders

Joseph Garcia, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, July 20, 2006

At 17 years old, Meaghan Cusack, of Littleton, has been training for months to participate in her second bicycle tour.

She worked around her time with her high school’s color guard and training to qualify for a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Oh, and she did it all without a right leg.

In 2001, doctors had to remove Meaghan’s leg where her bone cancer had originated to keep it from spreading more than it

already had.

At 12 years old, Meaghan was already a two-time cancer survivor.

She was first diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma in her right leg at age 10.

She underwent an aggressive eight-month treatment including chemotherapy and a tibia replacement.

But around four months later, her cancer relapsed and was found to have spread into her lungs.

After doctors amputated the leg , Meaghan was given a prosthetic. After almost two years of not being able to walk, she got back on her feet.

The year Meaghan was diagnosed, her mom Anni Cusack, an experienced bike rider, started a team dubbed "Meaghan’s Mod Squad" to participate in that year’s upcoming Courage Classic, a bike ride that is The Children’s Hospital’s second biggest fund-raiser.

Meaghan rode in the Courage Classic in 2003. This will be her second time riding and she’ll be partnering on a tandem

bike with family friend Chris Sporl.

"We raise tons of money, tons of awareness," said Anni Cusack. This will be her eighth time riding in the event.

Cusack said her daughter has never felt handicapped.

"I don’t really take a lot of things for granted, like walking," Meaghan said. "I have a more positive outlook on life."