Ben Miller

Shannon Miller (wife, "boss", and care provider) and I are extremely honored to be selected as a warrior this year.  I was an avid cyclist until 2015 when I started having multiple medical issues that prevented me from continuing the sport. I participated in a lot of fundraisers and met so many amazing people when I was a cyclist. I even qualified for Race across America in 2013 while Shannon was part of the crew. We both know how much time, dedication, and struggles go into riding.  To be part of this amazing organization and meeting everyone that has so many challenges that they are overcoming is so honoring.  

I have been very open on social media regarding my cancer mainly to help others that may have had cancer friends,  family, or who are about to go through the same as me. I first had lots of fatigue but I didn't think much of that because I was a truck driver and worked at night for roughly 60 plus hours a week. Then I started having pain in my liver area (just below ribs on right side). Both fatigue and pain was over time but pain continued to get worse.  In April of 2023 I was sent over for an ultrasound of my liver. It revealed an enlarged fatty liver. All my blood work was Normal! Please pay attention to my Blood work was Normal (very important).  A few months later my pain got so bad I went back to the doctor and as my doctor started the exam (pushing on abdomen) tears ran down my face because it was so painful.  I was sent for a cat scan within 2 hours. The next morning (June 27, 2023) at 7:34 am my phone rang. It was my amazing family doctor on the other end of that tearful,  gut-wrenching call. She explained I had a 12cm mass in my liver as I could hear her voice struggling with tears. My family doctor was a friend of Shannon's and mine so she knew she could explain everything better than I could so she called Shannon to explain the findings.  The next 3 weeks were full of extremely difficult news and at one point, there was little to no good outlook.  After a liver biopsy and pet scan they found I had non small cell lung cancer stage 4. It had metastasized to the liver, lymph nodes (throat), bones (hip and shoulder). At first when it was just liver cancer with a 12cm mass, the oncology doctor who didn't have all the facts was explaining that liver cancer alone didn't have very good outcomes. Evidently there aren't very many ways to treat it. After all the facts came in and the liver biopsy,  the treatments had a much better outlook but I was still in pretty bad shape. Treatment started and I had trouble within 3 days. Both legs had extreme pain to walk. We even bought a wheelchair because I thought I might be in one for a while. After some more treatments we found that the pain was due to blood clots,  it took 9 weeks to find out the cause of the pain. Then I was hospitalized two times in December.  I had leg swelling, high fever, redness in legs, and again very painful to walk. I was released the first time in December and was home until Christmas day. Went back to ER with 103.7 fever on Christmas day 2023. Was released on 1-1-24 from the hospital with the understanding that I am allergic to chemo (alimpta) therapy.  What is keeping me alive, is also killing me (maybe a little melodramatic but it sure felt like it was killing me at the time). Oncology doctor has had to drop the alimpta and continued the Keytruda.  I have also gained rheumatologist doctor,  infectious diseases doctor and dermatologist doctor to combat  the issues with chemo. With all that has happened,  Shannon and I continued to adapt.  It's been very difficult on both of us because I was once a very active person. I am reduced to a much more sedentary lifestyle and on complete disability.  Adjusting to financial and physical abilities have been challenging but feel so blessed to have the abilities to enjoy family. Shannon has also been struggling with her own disease (Graves disease) but is well controlled at this time. We both were able to go on a trip to Alaska for 13 days (cruise and land). I had to use a cane to walk with for the first 3 days but my inflammation reduced and I was able to enjoy the rest of vacation without it. That was definitely a bucket list trip and enjoyed the whole experience.  We look forward to meeting everyone and would love to talk to everyone about your experiences and challenges with your cycling. I sure do miss it. Thanks for all you do.