From left to right, Lee and Amy Albritton and Fernando Escabi-Mendez and Frances Rodriguez-Rivera make up The Cannonballers, a dumball rally team, to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Photo by Janet Sutton / Neuse News

By Janet Sutton

Two Lenoir County married couples are raising money for teenagers with cancer. Fernando Escabi-Mendez and Frances Rodriguez-Rivera along with Lee and Amy Albritton are embarking on an international journey to participate in the 2020 Dumball rally in Mexico. This organized road trip for a cause allows participants to decorate old vehicles and dress up as unique characters to attract attention to the cause while they support the Teenage Cancer Trust. 

September is childhood cancer awareness month and the pair of friends decided this was the perfect time to launch an online fundraising drive. They created a Facebook page called The Cannonballers-A Dumball Rally 2020 Team to promote their mission and provide details for their JustGiving page. The couples were inspired by the 80's film “The Cannonball Run” about a cross country auto race and thus The Cannonballers namesake was born.

They're using their own money for travel and expenses for the 100 to 300-mile drive in a squadron of Volkswagen Beetles from Mexico City to Acapulco. They're hoping to raise at least $4,000 to donate to the cancer trust.

The idea came about after Escabi-Mendez, a family physician, and his wife Frances watched a documentary about a young boy with cancer. Once they researched the film and learned about the dumball rally, they decided they wanted to help.

“In my line of work, I’ve had close interaction with at least 2 teens that have been affected by cancer," Escabi-Mendez said. "One made a complete recovery; one unfortunately passed away,” he said.

By donating to the cause teens and their families will have access to medical staff and get the support they need as they cope with the debilitating illness. So far the dumball rally's have raised 1 million dollars to aid the Teenage Cancer Trust.

The American Cancer Society says about 5,000 teens age 15-19 are diagnosed with cancer each year. It's unknown how youths specifically develop cancer but there are some factors that may contribute, such as ultraviolet light from the sun, tanning beds and radiation therapy, which can increase the likelihood of getting a second cancer. Common signs and symptoms of cancer can include prolonged issues such as unusual lump or swelling in the neck, belly, testicle or on the body; regular headaches with vomiting, eye or vision changes, abnormal bleeding, weight loss or frequent pain in an area of the body. 

"The biggest thing for me is 40 kids a day are told they have cancer and 1 out of 5 don't survive," Amy Albritton said. 

She's never been to Mexico, in fact, no one in the group has but they'll be prepared; three members of The Cannonballers speak Spanish and they’re packing minimal luggage and medicine as they await their route. So far they're at the 10 percent mark of their donation drive for the Teenage Cancer Trust and they're hoping to achieve their goal next year.

"We're shamelessly asking for money because it's not for us, " Escabi-Mendez said. 'We're trying to raise money for teenage cancer."