Annual Bike Ride for Amy rolls into So. Brunswick June 2

BY KATHY CHANG
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK — The sixth annual Bike Ride for Amy is set for June 2.

The ride is named after Amy Feiman Behar, who died at the age of 49 after losing her battle with breast cancer in March 2007.

Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2000. Although the tumor was small, the disease soon spread into her lymph nodes and bloodstream.

Her husband, Arie Behar, said the cancer was found during an annual mammogram.

Soon after his wife’s passing, Behar founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Amy’s memory.

“My friend helped me start the foundation. … It helped me keep my mind busy from the pain I was going through,” he said. “I wanted to find a way to help people and prevent what our family had to go through.”

Amy left behind two daughters and her husband of 24 years.

Since the foundation’s inception in 2007, the foundation has provided more than 1,500 mammograms for uninsured women. Behar said funds can be provided to men as well. The foundation raises funds to promote awareness and education on the importance of early detection.

Behar explained that a woman or a man may need a mammogram screening; however, they may be uninsured or just partly insured.

“This is where we come in,” he said. “The doctors know who we are and can refer those people to us.”

The foundation will provide free mammograms to women who are 40 and over, meet income eligibility requirements and are not covered under an insurance plan, including Medicaid.

Behar said their foundation also works on offering funding for diagnostic tests that may be needed.

“These are for people whose mammogram comes back inconclusive and more diagnostic ultrasounds are needed,” he said.

The Bike Ride for Amy starts at 8 a.m. at South Brunswick Township High School, 750 Ridge Road. It has a flat 25-mile route, a hilly 35-mile route, and a challenging 50- mile route. Check-in is at 7 a.m.

The foundation’s goal this year is to raise $50,000. It has averaged raising $70,000 each year and sees approximately 150 riders.

This year, the foundation has removed the registration fee but is asking each registrant to raise $140 — the cost of a screening mammogram — to participate. If a rider raises more than $420, he or she will be entitled to either a Ride for Amy Jersey or Ride for Amy Bike shorts. For raising $820, riders can have the complete kit of items.

For more information, visit www.theamyfoundation.org/bikeride.html, or email [email protected].