Lance Armstrong: A Different Type of Legacy

It's all over the news --- LANCE IS BACK. After over 3 1/2 years off from professional cycling, he returned to the sport this week at the Tour Down Under in Australia. Here's the link to an article about the cancer numbers Lance Armstrong will be wearing during his comeback. To stay up-to-date on Lance's Tour Down Under (and the upcoming Tour of California), check out the updated LIVESTRONG Blog at: www.livestrongblog.org !!!

Lance will be riding a bike that has two numbers on it: 1,274 and 27.5. The 1,274 represents the number of days since he last raced professionally in the 2005 Tour de France. The 27.5 stands for the approximately 27.5 million people who have died from cancer worldwide during that span.

“Sometimes this disease does not need money, it needs attention and exposure and awareness,” Armstrong said. “It needs people to step back and look at that bike, and go, ‘Jeez.’ They see two simple numbers, and they think: ‘Why haven’t I heard? Why am I not thinking about this? Why haven’t I stood up and demanded change because of this?’ ”

I am one voice in a LIVESTRONG grassroots army that has been, and will continue to, stand up for change, for prevention, survivorship and research. Lance left an incredible legacy when he won 7 Tours de France...and now he's looking to leave a different kind of legacy. He's not just racing for himself now, but for the LIVESTRONG Cause, to leave a legacy on global awareness about the issue of cancer.

If you want to know how you can help, start by joining a local, grassroots LIVESTRONG Army in your area. Go to the LIVESTRONG Army sign-up page to select your army and officially register. http://my.livestrong.org/joinlocalarmy If you're in the Southern California area, please join our local San Diego LIVESTRONG Army (Select "San Diego" on the drop-down list.) Our local army is getting geared up for Amgen's Tour of California that ends in Rancho Bernardo/Escondido in February 2009, and we're very excited to spread the word of the LIVESTRONG message.

Also, here are other ways to link to our local LIVESTRONG Army of San Diego: Web, Facebook & Twitter.

LIVESTRONG!!!