When Joyce Rothschild was diagnosed with leukemia in the spring of 2022, life changed in an instant. She and her husband, Dan Mansoor, were in Utah for a friend’s wedding when the call came from her doctor. “It was something you can never really prepare for,” Dan recalls. “She got the call the day before the wedding — the test was positive for leukemia”.
Back home in Cleveland, the couple immediately began treatment at Cleveland Clinic. The days became a blur of tests, appointments and treatments — but amid the uncertainty, they found comfort in the compassion and competence surrounding them.
“The wonderful thing about Cleveland Clinic is that first of all it feels more like an art gallery than a hospital,” Dan says. “Everyone, from the doctors to the valets, treated us with earnest kindness. It made the journey easier and less painful, both physically and spiritually.”
When they explored care options across the country, every leading cancer center they contacted told them the same thing: If you live within ten minutes of the Cleveland Clinic, you’re already in the right place. “That gave us peace of mind,” Dan says. “Being home matters.”
When asked to describe Joyce, Dan says she was someone who made every space around her feel like home. A gifted graphic designer, she was admired not only for her talent but for her warmth and humility. “Everything about her was about beauty,” says Dan. “In her work, her friendships, her life. I got lucky — she was amazing.”
When she became ill, that circle of love only grew wider. Friends, colleagues and family rallied to support her. In August of 2022 when Dan decided to join in his first VeloSano, Cleveland Clinic’s cancer research fundraising movement, many joined him by giving in honor of Joyce. Dan set a modest goal of $1,000. “This was something productive I could do while dealing with Joyce’s diagnosis,” he says. “Something good from something bad.”
But something remarkable happened. Donations poured in — $20,000 in the first month, eventually growing to more than $45,000. “People didn’t only give,” he says. “They wrote beautiful notes about Joyce and about their own cancer story. They also said, ‘Thank you for the opportunity to give.’”
He says that one of the best parts about participating in VeloSano Bike to Cure weekend is the sense of connection.
“You look around and see thousands of riders; strangers who suddenly feel like friends,” he says. “We’re all there for the same reason – someone special. This community is what makes VeloSano so rewarding and therapeutic.”
Bike to Cure weekend in 2025 was especially meaningful for Dan. It came just five months after Joyce passed away. “It was a beautiful day,” he remembers. “Emotional, but restorative.”
In his three years of fundraising for VeloSano, Dan has raised more than $200,000 for cancer research at Cleveland Clinic, including $114,000 in his most recent ride.
For Dan, VeloSano has become a celebration of life, community and hope, as well as a chance for others to contribute to cancer research. “I don’t want to deny someone the opportunity to make a difference,” he says. “Philanthropy gives us that gift. It lets us turn something painful into something beautiful.”
100% For The Cure
