Meet Lance Armstrong
At 33, Lance Armstrong is many things. He is a world champion cyclist with an unprecedented seven consecutive Tour de France titles; a boyfriend to rocker Sheryl Crow; a doting son; a loving father of three; a best-selling author; a cancer survivor; a role model; and the man behind those yellow LIVESTRONG™ bands. Lance is unstoppable, a force to be reckoned with and the very definition of courage.
Photo credit: Laurent Rebours/AP/Wide World Photo
The Tour de France
Lance is best known for literally going from his deathbed to becoming the first person in history to win the Tour de France, cycling's biggest competition, seven consecutive times. Many consider the Tour to be the most grueling athletic competition in the world: riders travel more than 2,000 miles in 23 days. But Lance says beating cancer is the sweetest victory of all.
Diagnosed with Cancer
At 21, Lance became the youngest American ever to compete in the legendary Tour de France, cycling's greatest event. Three years later, in his third tour, he dropped out of the competition complaining of chest pains and breathing troubles.
Shortly after, Lance was diagnosed with testicular cancer. The news was grim. The advanced cancer had already spread: Lance's lungs were filled with tumors and there were lesions on his brain. Doctors didn't know if he would survive. Though they said his chances of survival were 40 to 50 percent, Lance later learned that his doctor said his case was among the very worst he'd ever seen.
But Lance was seriously determined to beat cancer. "I'm entering this battle in probably the best shape of my life," he said at the time. "As soon as my wounds heal from the surgery, I'm going be on a bike."
He had the cancerous testicle removed, brain surgery and months of harrowing experimental chemotherapy. Amazingly, within three months the cancer was in remission and Lance was training again.
Linda's Son
Although some people think that Lance was married to his now ex-wife Kristin when he was diagnosed with cancer, Lance and Kristin hadn't even started dating yet. The woman who stood by Lance through his cancer treatment was his mom, Linda.
Linda had Lance when she was just 17. As a single mother, she often worked two jobs to provide for him. "Lance was a high-energy young man," she recalls. "Definitely like a little tornado that just fills that big urge to go off and show everybody, 'Hey, watch me. I can do this.'"
"She was everything to me," Lance says. "She was my coach. She was my friend. She was my motivator. She was my nutritionist. She was my driver. You know, everything. Cheerleader. She was everything to me when I was a kid. So naturally, when I got older and I would get in a tough situation, I would call her. And the one thing that she always stressed to me wasn't, like, 'You've got to win today, son.' Or, 'Go out there and win.' [But instead], 'Just give it your best and don't quit. Don't ever quit.' And that carries through, even today. That's my attitude either in a bike race or an illness or talking to somebody that's just been diagnosed [with cancer or an illness]: just don't quit. And I got all that from her."
The Yellow Bands
Nike donated $1 million and produced the first 5 million wristbands to launch the Wear Yellow LIVESTRONG campaign benefitting the Lance Armstrong Foundation. It was a simple fundraising goal: for each $1 band sold, $1 would be donated to cancer education and research. Since then, they simply have taken the world by storm. From movie stars to school children to heads of state, everybody seems to be wearing one. At one point the demand was so great, they couldn't make them fast enough. Last summer, the $1 bands even were selling on eBay for 20 times their value.
So far, 32 million people have sported this symbol of cancer awareness meaning $32 million has been raised!
Get your LIVESTRONG™ band today on The Lance Armstrong Foundation website:
Sheryl Crow and Lance Armstrong
Before winning nine Grammys and selling 25 million records, former grade school teacher Sheryl Crow paid her dues as a backup singer for Michael Jackson and wrote songs for superstars like Eric Clapton, Tina Turner and Céline Dion. Today, looking great at 42, this self-described small-town girl from Missouri is soaking up the sun with her new love, Lance Armstrong, and working on material for her upcoming album, Wildflower, due out on September 27.
Dating a Celebrity
So how did the award-winning singer and cycling champion hook up? Lance and Sheryl started flirting with each other through their Blackberries!
Oprah: Had you been a fan of hers and you and fan of his before you connected?
Lance: I don't know about her, but I was a fan. I never asked her.
Sheryl: Definitely. I mean, it's an incredible story. Plus…he's really cute, don't you think?
Sheryl Crow
After spending a year with Lance as he trained for his sixth Tour de France, this quintessential rocker says, "His line of work is so much cooler than mine now!"
"It's so much more fun and the personalities are so much more interesting than in rock and roll," says Sheryl Crow. "I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all the teammates, their dedication, and interesting people from all over the world. They've got 70 nationalities on their own team and it was really, for me, a learning experience and also really joyful. It really took me out of my own world and when I came back … I really missed his world."
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow performs the world debut of "I Know Why," one of Lance's favorite songs.
Cancer Patient's Dream Comes True
This season, The Oprah Winfrey Show is making wildest dreams come true. Nearly 100 viewers wrote to us about their special friend Andree whose dream is to live strong.
After undergoing treatment for breast cancer, Andree was in remission for more than four years. Then, just shy of the five-year mark, her cancer came back.
Despite the weekly chemotherapy she'll have the rest of her life, this mother and first grade teacher's spirits are always up. Fighting cancer every step of the way with her optimistic attidude, Andree and her husband have even turned her chemo appointments into date days!
Throughout her battle, Andree has had one role model, one person she's looked to for inspiration. "Lance," says Andree, "You are my hero. I am in the fight of my life right now and there are days when I can't go on and just wake up and don't want to fight anymore. … You need to know that I just look down at this LIVESTRONG™ [wristband] every single day and you just remind me to live strong. Attitude, prayers, and family and friends are just everything."
Lance's Next Race
Lance says the 2005 Tour, which he won a record seventh-straight time, is his last. But first, he had to beat Oprah—peddling with only one leg!
Buy the Band
When this show first aired in February 2005, Oprah viewers set the single-day sales record for LIVESTRONG™ wristbands, buying 900,000 bands!
Help us set a new record! Get your LIVESTRONG™ wristband now!
