Nine-time Empire State Rider, Steve Mars, exemplifies what it means to commit and give back. For years, he rode his bike 500+ miles across New York State for others — to honor the lives of his mother, cousin and best friend who all lost their lives to cancer and to fund cancer research for the next generation. Never could he have predicted that he would eventually receive the same treatment for which he spent years fundraising.
But first, Steve’s Start with Empire State Ride
When Steve Mars signed up for Empire State Ride for the first time in 2016, two motives fueled him: respect for the mission to end cancer and a deep desire to prove his kids wrong.
He first learned about Empire State Ride through the New York City Bike Expo back when ESR was in its second year. ESR’s founder, Terry Bourgeois, sent him a YouTube video about the adventure, and Steve was sold. At the time, he’d only ever ridden 60 miles, but the idea of riding 500+ miles across New York State excited him. Steve told his wife, Barb Mars, and two daughters, Kaitlin Mars-Liebman and Lauren Melchione, his plan, and it only added fuel to the fire.
“I was 55, and my kids looked at me and said, ‘You can’t ride to Buffalo … like, this is crazy.’ And I was just like, ‘I’m going to get you and show you what it’s like to go out of your comfort zone.’ That’s really the driving force behind this,” Steve says, laughing.
When Steve toed the start line of his first Empire State Ride, he knew nobody but was determined to see the adventure through. Over seven days, he conquered miles, hills and weather and finally reached the finish line in Niagara Falls.
I remember thinking [ESR] was kind of crazy … but he quickly proved that fear wrong. After that first year, it was like, ‘Oh, this is just what Dad does.’”
“I remember watching [the finish line] on livestream his first year, and we were very inspired that he did all the miles and didn’t back down,” Kaitlin recalls. “He didn’t get in the van and travel 20 miles; he did the whole thing … and for a good cause, as well.”
“I remember thinking [ESR] was kind of crazy …” Lauren says, smiling, “but he quickly proved that fear wrong. After that first year, it was like, ‘Oh, this is just what Dad does.’”
For good measure, Steve finished eight more Empire State Rides after that. And Barb loves to tell people about it.
“I feel like I’m Steve’s best PR person, because he’s a humble man,” she says, “We’ll be in a social situation, and I’ll be like, ‘You know, he did it nine times.’ Nine!”
From Road Warrior to Mission Crusader
After that first year, Steve never toed the start line alone again. The people in the ESR community, including founder Terry Bourgeois, became fast friends. Steve even joined the steering committee as a volunteer co-chair.
“I did marketing partnerships in my career, and at the end of the seventh day my first year, Terry came up to me and said, ‘We’re thinking about forming a steering team in New York. What do you think?’ And I’m like, ‘You had me at hello.’ He had no idea what I did for a living, but I’m very big into collaboration and leveraging my network for the benefit of the ride. The fact that Terry came up to me at the end of that first week … I’m just blown away. He just changed my life.”
An unwavering champion for the cancer cause, Steve has raised an incredible $135,226 through the weeklong Empire State Ride to drive cancer research at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and across the globe. That number does not include the total he raised through Empire State Ride Long Island, a day ride and fundraiser he founded in Oyster Bay, New York, more than six years ago. That event has raised $649,050 to advance the future of cancer care at Roswell Park and Catholic Health Cancer Centers. His enthusiasm has engaged countless people in a movement to break through to newer, better treatments.
"The fact that Terry came up to me at the end of that first week … I'm just blown away. He just changed my life."
Fundraising 🤝Breakthroughs
Over the decade that he has been fundraising, Steve’s efforts (and those of his fellow road warriors) have helped fund key research breakthroughs, including major advances in CAR T-cell therapy, a type of cellular therapy that arms the body’s immune-fighting T cells to identify and attack cancer cells. Roswell Park’s Deputy Director Renier Brentjens, MD, PhD, Chair of the Departments of Medicine and Immunology and the Katherine Anne Gioia Endowed Chair in Cancer Medicine helped pioneer this innovative treatment. Dr. Brentjens is also an Empire State Rider.
“This is all about me paying it forward. You know, there are so many people smarter than me in this mission. And for me to be on a ride with Dr. Joyce Ohm or Dr. Renier Brentjens … I just look over and am completely humbled by their intelligence.” Steve says.
Steve saw firsthand the impact of his fundraising when he visited Buffalo back in 2024 for the grand opening of Roswell Park’s GMP Engineering and Cell Manufacturing Facility. This innovative space is the first of only two cell and gene therapy hubs in New York State. The cleans rooms allow Roswell Park clinicians to manufacture cells right on campus, allowing more patients to access innovative cellular therapies (like CAR T-cell therapy) and paving the way for more clinical trials.
What Steve didn’t yet realize was how full circle that tour would become.
Full-Circle Moments: Steve’s Cancer Journey
Cancer has always hit too close to home for Steve. In 2008, Steve’s mother was diagnosed with late-stage metastatic breast cancer, and Steve soon discovered that he had non-Hodgkins follicular lymphoma. His mother passed away only a few days after Steve started treatment.
“There I was getting chemo, my first infusion, and essentially, I felt like my mom was sending me her last bit of life so I could move on,” Steve says.
And Steve did. He put his head down, pursued the treatment and eventually reached remission. He remained cancer-free for almost 17 years.
Then, in 2020, Barb was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer.
“I went through treatment, and it’ll be five years for me on July 20th,” Barb says. “But you get to a certain phase in your life, and you realize what’s important, what comes into focus. This happened to me during my cancer journey. I think Steve is there too, you know?”
For Steve and Barb, family came into focus. This has especially rung true since Summer 2025. Amidst training for Empire State Ride, Steve started to feel off. There were lumps in his neck, and he got ill very quickly. It soon became apparent that Steve’s cancer had returned. Through it all, his family and friends rallied around him.
The months that followed blurred between chemotherapy and trips to the ER. In December, Steve was declared in remission and rang the victory bell to symbolize the end of his treatment. Only five weeks later, he started showing stroke-like behaviors, and scans revealed the cancer had emerged in his brain. During additional chemotherapy treatments, Steve was admitted to the ICU for complications from RSV. Though the weakened diseased cells responded to chemotherapy, some of the more stubborn cancer cells remained.
That’s when Steve’s care team decided to pivot to the treatment that Steve spent so many years helping to advance: CAR T-cell therapy. First, he had to undergo several rounds of radiation to bridge the gaps to CAR T-cell therapy. Then, several rounds of chemotherapy were given to wipe out his existing T cells and make room for the genetically engineered “super” cells. Steve had his T cells removed, genetically modified in a lab to attack cancer cells and reinfused.
The road ahead is long, but Steve finds peace in knowing that he has so many more treatment options today than he did 17 years ago when CAR T-cell therapy wasn’t around.
“This is year ten of my mission [to end cancer]. And one of the things that really stands out to me is incredible change that we’ve seen in the last ten years … SurVaxM, CAR T-cell therapy and other incredible advances,” Steve says. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make cancer stop.”
“This is year ten of my mission [to end cancer]. And one of the things that really stands out to me is incredible change that we've seen in the last ten years … SurVaxM, CAR T-cell therapy and other incredible advances. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make cancer stop.”
What It Means to Keep Going
Even in the thick of his toughest challenge yet, Steve hasn’t stopped giving back. He’s devastated to miss this year’s ESR, but he’s still fundraising and spreading the word. And after a decade of being involved, Steve has a whole community standing with him.
“His journey definitely shows how resilient he is and how he is not willing to give up and give in. His sense of humor has stayed, and he was doing Zoom calls for the ride in the hospital. He’s busy doing good things and not just focused on whatever he’s going through. It also helps that all of the doctors, nurses and other staff members have been so kind and supportive. He’s built relationships with everybody. It definitely shows his strength through this process,” Katilin says.
Lauren agrees, “He’s always been kind of that model of strength in our family, but even more so now. It shows that a positive attitude and resilience really does pay off. That definitely helps him get through — and us, too. We have to show the strength that he shows us.”
Join Steve in the mission to end cancer.
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