4,000 Miles Of Hope Leads Through Creve Coeur

Jason Lowman will get back on track Tuesday, as part of a cross country bike ride which saw him veer slightly off course. But one day after visiting the campus of , he said it was worth the detour.

Lowman is a newly minted Navy veteran, who started his trek in Oregon in June and plans to finish it in August in South Carolina. He's calling the journey 4000 Miles Of Hope.

The goal of 4000 Miles of Hope is to raise $100,000 and awareness to fight cancer. Lowman wrote on his website that he was inspired by an American Cancer Society statistic that said 4,000 people were diagnosed with the disease daily. His family has also felt the loss of a friend to cancer.

Lowman's travels take him to cancer treatment centers along the way. Donations to his efforts stay in the state where the donations are made.

On July 17, he said he was staying 20 miles outside of Missouri in Kansas when he realized how close he was to Joplin, and decided to take the 55 mile detour to the tornado-ravaged city. He spent the next day volunteering there and called it the most powerful 24 hours of the entire trip.

His journey in Missouri continued, but he still didn't have a cancer-related destination on his itinerary in the state. Monday, he visited the St. John's Mercy Medical Center campus, including a stop at the Cardinals Kids Cancer Center at the David C. Pratt Cancer Center.

There, he showed patients his bike and answered their questions. Bowman later told Patch by phone that he was impressed by the technology on site at the facility and that visiting the kids pulled at his heart "because cancer doesn't discriminate."

His trip thus far has raised $34,000. He'll make his way to Carbondale, IL Tuesday, happy to have made a detour in Missouri.

For more information: 4000milesofhope.com