One night, Scott and his wife tuned in to see Dave Letterman interview the newly crowned Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, following his first win in 1999, and listened as Lance talked as much about his cancer survivorship as he did his personal success on the bike.

“I learned for the first time in my life that men needed to check for tumors just like women do,” Scott says. “The next day I performed the self-exam that Lance described the night before to millions of viewers, and found a lump.” Scott feels that his early detection was key to his success story.

Scott was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly thereafter. In a unique way, Scott believes Lance’s story made the life he has today possible – he’s cancer free and the father of two sons. “I was blessed by this unbelievable message from someone I never met and it changed my life and my family’s life,” Scott says. “There’s a responsibility that comes with that.”

Riding as a member of the Team in The Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope™ is “payback” for Scott; an opportunity to do for others what Lance did for him. “I was lucky enough to have received a gift from a man who was willing to share,” Scott says. “I feel the need and desire to acknowledge that gift as well as pay it forward to the community.”

Scott will tell his story in hopes that those who hear it will be inspired to act, as he did. “I do not know a single person whose life has not been touched by cancer, however I do not feel that cancer research and clinical trials have the public and political support they need and deserve,” he says.