Community comes together to bike, fundraise and support Cynthia Vasquez

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (KAUZ) - What was originally supposed to be a “Bike Ride with the Mayor” safety ride in honor of National Bike Month turned into a way to help raise money for Cynthia Vasquez’s cancer treatments and bring awareness to the “Get Tee’d Off at Cancer for Cynthia” golf scramble.

Mayor Tim Short heard about Cynthia’s diagnosis of stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer. This hit close to home for the mayor, as this is the same cancer that claimed the life of his father 10 years ago.

“They need to feel loved, supported and prayed over. There are a lot of emotions. There are a lot of expenses. There are a lot of things that happen. People don’t need to be thinking about anything except beating it and getting better,” Mayor Short said.

Cynthia is the mother of Chris and Jacob Vasquez. Both are officers for the Wichita Falls Police Department. Chris describes his mother as the hardest worker he’s been around and the foundation of their family. He said although it’s tough to see her go through this adversity, it’s special to see the number of people in her corner.

“To see her now have to fight this disease is pretty heartbreaking, but to see the amount of support she’s been given not only from our family but the police department, as well as the community at large, it’s been amazing. So, you know it’s one of those things where it’s difficult to go through, but she doesn’t have to fight it alone. She’s got a lot of people supporting her and backing her,” Chris said.

Cynthia is currently receiving weekly treatments at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She is receiving an experimental trial treatment. The money raised at the bike ride and the golf scramble will go towards that and other related expenses.

“Sometimes one day trips down [to Houston] and back just to see a doctor for five minutes or so, you know? It’s stressful, it’s time-consuming, but it is what it is. It’s necessary in order for her to receive the best treatment. That’s really why we are, you know, we are hoping to raise money for it because not only is she receiving treatment down at MD Anderson, but the trips, the hotels, and everything else, it can be a lot,” Chris said.

The “Get Tee’d Off at Cancer for Cynthia Vasquez” golf scramble is going to be played at River Creek Golf Course on June 14. Check-in for the scramble is at 12:30 p.m., followed by a 1 p.m. shotgun start. A foursome is $400, and the payment is needed by June 11. That can be sent via Venmo @joannjohn. Lunch is provided for the participants and can be purchased by spectators.

If you would like to donate to Cynthia’s GoFundMe page, the link is right here.