LI native battles cancer, bikes America

The first time Mike Cohen was at the New Hyde Park cancer center, he was a high school graduate about to turn 19. He was starting chemotherapy.

Friday, he returned as a success story, celebrating eight cancer-free years and completion of a cross-country bicycle ride.

He pedaled 3,132 miles over 42 days to inspire other young cancer patients, writing about the adventure in a blog, www.asecondspin.com.

"I want them to know, never let go of something you love; like for some people, riding is what you love," said Cohen, 27, who grew up in Levittown and moved to San Diego a couple of years ago.

Employed as a waiter, he said he plans to start a foundation to help other people recovering from cancer resume their lives.

At Monter Cancer Center, Cohen was reunited with his doctor, Steven Allen.

"Before, he's always seen me in a hospital bed, or in getting outpatient treatment. This is on my terms," Cohen said.

The hardest day of the journey, he told Allen, was climbing the Arizona foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

"It's like treatment," Allen replied. "It's tough going uphill, and then it's downhill."

Cohen's journey from San Diego actually ended Saturday, with a stop at his parents' current home in Manalapan, N.J., before riding to the Long Island hospital. He returned Friday to show Allen and reporters how far he'd come.

Cohen was 18, a graduate of MacArthur High School in Levittown with plans of being a chef, when he suddenly developed severe abdominal pains in 2004.

After being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which affects white blood cells, the teen underwent two grueling years of chemo.

Friday, the doctor was beaming as he stood next to the bearded Cohen, looking fit and trim in his bicycle gear.

After this long without the cancer returning, "things are looking very encouraging for Michael," Allen said.

"He just rode across the country. That's something most of us couldn't do."