When Duke Browning and his wife called their newborn daughter Hope, they had no idea how aptly she would live up to her name. At two-and-a-half years of age she was diagnosed with leukemia and died just seven months later. And while their little girl named Hope is gone, the hope that she generated during her brief time on Earth remains.

“We know that her life and death mattered,” Duke says. “Her impact will be felt by the generations that come after her because she is still helping and supporting her little peers with her statistics.”

Hope was part of a clinical trial for leukemia. As she began her treatment, the Brownings’ fears were replaced with hope as they realized that others had been there and paved the way for survival. They did not feel alone in their daughter’s battle, and saw that participating in a clinical trial was a way for Hope to have a better chance and to benefit children who would be diagnosed with leukemia in the future.

During their daughter’s cancer treatment and after she died, the Brownings were surrounded by love and support from their friends, neighbors and co-workers. In turn, Duke and his wife, Sharolyn, share Hope’s story with others in their time of need. They remain active in cancer advocacy organizations and regularly talk about their daughter’s experience and the role that cancer clinical trials play in reaching a cure.

For Duke, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™ is quite literally about Hope. He’s Hope’s dad and he’ll think about his little girl as he rides with the Team. "My daughter’s cancer and her death has changed me to be more compassionate and to be a better person, to take advantage of life and do more things that matter,” Duke says.