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Dempsey Challenge Kicks Off

The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing

Runners, walkers and cyclists are tying their laces and buckling their helmets this weekend for the sixth annual Dempsey Challenge in Lewiston.  But the sixth annual event is a tough one for actor Patrick Dempsey and his family.

"It's very, very difficult this year" says Dempsey, who founded the Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope and Healing, in honor of his mother Amanda, who battled ovarian cancer for years. 

"I lost my mother in the spring, who really was the inspiration behind this thing," says the Grey's Anatomy star. "And it's the first time for me to come back, so it brings up a lot of emotions."

The Dempsey Challenge features a variety of running, walking, and cycle races to benefit the center, which provides free support services for cancer patients and their families.

The idea behind the Challenge,  says Dempsey,  is to motivate people to change their lives, become healthier, and help their local communities, while supporting the cancer center's services.

The Challenge is attracting professional bike racers, who will take to the pavement on Sunday.
"This is something that touches all of us," says  'Fast Freddie' Rodriguez, a competitive cyclist who is racing in his fourth Challenge this year. "I've never been at an event where you get so touched by everybody - the hugs, the good feeling."
For others, the race is personal.
Twenty-six year old Jackie Crowell is a professional cyclist from Atlanta, who says she's learned that cancer can happen to anybody.
"You know, up until last year I was under the impression that everyone who got cancer was a smoker, or wasn't taking care of themselves," she says. "Then on October 3rd of 2013, I was diagnosed with brain cancer, and that's when I realized that it doesn't pick and choose."
The Dempsey Challenge has raised more than five million dollars since it began five years ago. Last year's Challenge brought in $1.1 million. As of Friday, organizers had already collected $1 million for this year's event.