Swimmers Make Waves to Fight Cancer with Swim Across America SF

Swimmers and volunteers in the San Francisco Bay area will be making a big splash on Saturday, September 24, at the 17th annual Swim Across America San Francisco Bay open water swim. This swim raises funds for cancer research with the swim’s local San Francisco beneficiary, the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals in Oakland and San Francisco. The Swim Across America San Francisco Bay open water event will be held at the Little Marina Green in San Francisco, and is a 1.5 mile swim to Aquatic Park. Those interested in participating or donating to the cause, can learn more at swimacrossamerica.org/sanfrancisco.

Three time cancer survivor Susan Helmrich, who faced the harsh reality of a three separate cancer diagnosis, and fought back each time, will be swimming. At the young age of 21, Susan heard the words "you have cancer" for the first time when she was diagnosed with vaginal cancer. Twenty-four years later, Susan would be told that the cancer was back and had spread to her lungs. Eleven years after that diagnosis, Susan had surgery for neuroendocrine pancreatic cancer. This year, she will celebrate 13 years cancer-free as a three-time cancer survivor!

Susan has been an avid swimmer her whole life, but Swim Across America provided a new meaning to her love of swimming.

“I swim because I can, and because so many others cannot,” said Susan Helmrich. “I swim because I am one of the lucky ones who has benefitted from extraordinary research and great medical care, which saved my life each time I had cancer. I swim because I am so fortunate to have made it through three different cancers, eight major surgeries and way too many hospitalizations to even count, and I have come out the other side.”

Susan partnered with Anthony Ducomb to become the co-event directors for Swim Across America San Francisco Bay back in 2011. The pair have worked tirelessly from 2011 to 2020 as co-event directors, growing the charity swim and raising awareness of the need for funding cancer research in their community. Thanks to their tireless leadership, Swim Across America San Francisco Bay has donated more than $5.5 million to support pediatric cancer research at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.

Even though Susan is no longer the co-director of the event, she has stayed very involved with Swim Across America and is the captain of Team Susan Survives!, a top national fundraising team that has raised more than $1 million through the years to support cancer research in San Francisco.

Susan noted, “I continue to volunteer for Swim Across America as captain of Team Susan Survives! because it is my small way of giving something back to the universe. For whatever reason, I am one of the lucky ones. In my own small way, I hope to inspire, motivate and encourage others to keep trying and to keep going even when it seems hopeless.”

Founded in 1987 and celebrating 35 years of #makingwaves to #fightcancer this year, Swim Across America is a national nonprofit organization that holds 24 open water swims across the country, from Boston to under the Golden Gate Bridge. The organization has an interesting history as it started with a sunken boat in Long Island Sound at its first-ever open water swim and has turned its passion for swimming and fighting cancer into $100 million that supports crucial cancer research throughout the country.

Swim Across America funding has contributed to four FDA approved life-saving immunotherapy treatments: Yervoy, Opdivo, Tecentriq and Keytruda, and supports research with more than 60 scientific grants funded each year. Just this past June, very exciting news about a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was published in The New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment produced by GlaxoSmithKline. The clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was funded by early-stage grant funding from Swim Across America.

More than 60 scientific grants are funded each year by Swim Across America and there are ten dedicated Swim Across America Labs at major institutions including: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, John Hopkins Medicine Baltimore, Rush University Medical Center Chicago, Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket, Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Lounge at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and San Francisco and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

More than 120 Olympians support Swim Across America, including Michael Phelps, Craig Beardsley (who is being inducted into the International Swimmer’s Hall of Fame this fall), Donna De Varona, Rowdy Gaines, Janel Jorgensen McArdle, Bobby Hackett, Ryan Lochte, Glenn Mills and many more.

In honor of Swim Across America’s 35th anniversary, the organization is showcasing “35 Stories of Impact” throughout its decades with a special website at swimacrossamerica.org/35. Susan Helmrich is one of the “35 Stories of Impact” profiled.

To learn more about Swim Across America San Francisco or to register to swim, volunteer or donate for the September 24th open water swim, visit swimacrossamerica.org/SanFrancisco.

Swim Across America, Inc. (SAA) is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events. With the help of hundreds of volunteers nationwide and past and current Olympians, Swim Across America is helping find a cure for cancer through athleticism, community outreach and direct service. To learn more visit swimacrossamerica.org/SanFrancisco or follow on Facebook or Instagram @SAASanFrancisco or email Nathaniel Berger at [email protected]