Iditarod winner gives cancer patients hope

NOME, Alaska — When it comes to a tough fight, winning the longest sled dog race in the world was no match for what it took Lance Mackey to beat cancer.

Mackey won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Tuesday and did something no other musher has done — he got back-to-back wins in the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race.

In 2001, he was diagnosed with neck cancer and underwent surgery and radiation.

With a feeding tube into his stomach and still undergoing cancer treatment, Mackey started the 2002 Iditarod, but was forced to scratch in Ophir — still more than 400 miles into the race from Anchorage.

Mackey is now cancer free, and his kennel is named Lance Mackey's Comeback Kennel.

"Don't ever doubt I can't do something," Mackey said in Nome after his win. "I lived through cancer."

"I made it through stronger than ever to make my dream a reality," he said.

Mackey's status as a cancer survivor and champion musher will inspire other people with cancer, said Christine Schultz, 42, of Nome, a medical social worker who stood out in subzero temperatures to watch Mackey cross the finish line.

Not only did Mackey's dog team look strong, wagging their tails and barking when they came in, but Mackey looked good, too, particularly after mushing a team a distance equal to going from New York to Miami.

Some of Schultz's patients are being treated for cancer, and Mackey is going to be a powerful symbol for them, she said.

"I think it gives people hope they can overcome cancer and live their dreams," she said.