Making waves for cancer cure

Greg Miller of Snoqualmie will swim farther than he ever has in the quest to fight cancer.

Miller, 41, is taking part in the Swim Across America Seattle fundraiser, benefitting research by the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, on Saturday, Sept. 12, in Mercer Island. He is seeking sponsors for the swim, which at two miles is his biggest aquatic challenge yet.

Miller started swimming about a year ago, after undergoing surgery to remove his cancerous right kidney. A former runner, Miller turned to swimming for exercise as he healed.

“I got more and more into it,” he said. Thanks to swimming, Miller said he’s now healthier than he was before his cancer fight, and is 25 pounds leaner.

He practices at Rattlesnake Lake, the Si View pool and the Seattle YMCA, where he is part of the masters swim program. The furthest he had swim is about a mile and a half. Miller manages a mile in about 25 minutes.

When Miller learned of the event, the first of its kind in the Seattle area, he decided to dive in. As a cancer survivor and a swimmer, “it was a good fit for me.”

Pacific Northwest fitness enthusiasts are invited to join a team of Olympic swimmers in the benefit. The two-mile swim begins at Mercer Island’s Mercerwood Shore Club (8 a.m. start); the half-mile swim begins at Luther Burbank Park’s swim beach (8:30 a.m. start), also on Mercer Island, where both will finish.

All participants and volunteers are invited to a post-swim celebration and award ceremony at the swim beach.

Seattle Cancer Care Alliance includes the adult and pediatric cancer-care services of FredHutchinsonCancerResearchCenter, UW Medicine and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

During the past 23 years, Swim Across America has raised more than $25 million for many of the nation’s top cancer institutions, attracting involvement from current and former Olympians along with thousands of swimmers and volunteers.

To learn more about the benefit, or donate to Miller’s cause, visit www.swimacrossamerica.org and click on the Seattle swim link.

Contact Snoqualmie Valley Record Editor Seth Truscott at editor@valleyrecord.com or 1-425-888-2311.

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