VCU physician to bike across country to raise funds to battle lung disease

By Erin Lucero
Office of Development, School of Medicine

RICHMOND, Va. — Through the Badlands, over the Rockies, past the Mississippi River.... From coast to coast, he’ll see it all from the back of a bike, one mile at a time.

Paul Fairman, M.D., specializes in treating patients with lung diseases at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical College of Virginia Hospitals. He’ll test his own lungs this summer as he pedals 3,250 miles as part of the American Lung Association’s annual Big Ride Across America, June 19-Aug. 5.

"This is something that I’ve dreamed about doing since college," said Fairman. "It will be a huge adventure, seeing America from the vantage of a bike. And it’s personally important to me that the funds raised will go to battling lung disease, which is the only one of the nation’s top four killers that’s still on the rise."

Fairman is one of the few practicing physicians riding in this year’s nearly seven-week, 12-state fund-raising trek. He’ll be joined by his 28-year old son, Nathan, who will start medical school in the fall. Sleeping in tents on high-school football fields, they’ll get few days of rest.

In the language of bikers, a 100-mile ride is called a century, and it’s considered a test that is equivalent to a runner’s marathon. With a schedule that will have riders averaging 80 miles a day, Fairman knows he’s facing a grueling physical challenge. So he’s training hard. Last year he logged 1,000 miles, but he’s already more than met that mark this year. He’s hoping he’ll have put in 2,000 miles by the time the Big Ride rolls around.

Every day as he interacts with his patients, Fairman confronts the sometimes devastating results of lung disease. On a Web site that is devoted to his summer trek, about a half dozen of his patients share their stories of how lung disease has affected their lives. He knows that he’ll remember those tales of shortness of breath, ventilators and lung transplants as he pedals across the country this summer.

The annual Big Ride Across America raises awareness and funds for the American Lung Association’s fight against lung disease. Of the physically challenging fund-raisers that have become common in recent years, it’s considered one of the most grueling. One of 267 riders currently registered, Fairman hopes to raise $15,000 toward the ALA’s national goal of $2.5 million.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women, and lung disease is the third leading cause of death in America with 335,000 deaths annually. One in 10 Americans has chronic lung disease, including the 30 million Americans who have asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis. To learn more about lung disease and the Big Ride Across America, visit the ALA’s Web site at www.bigride.com.