“Ride On Dads:” a Pocatello dad on a mission to get men tested for prostate cancer

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - Zachary Parris is pretty much an average guy. He's an avid cyclist, father and husband, and he's battling prostate cancer.

Diagnosed in August 2012, Parris has seen his share of treatments.

“I’ve had surgery and I had a whole bunch of radiation treatments. They thought the cancer was gone and then it came back in 2015,” Parris said.

While still managing treatments, he and his wife are taking on a new challenge.

On Wednesday, they launched their LLC, called "Ride On Dads." They've partnered with Barrie's Ski and Sports, Pebble Creek Ski Area and the Huntsman Cancer Institute to raise awareness and money for prostate cancer research.

Parris's treatment is through the Huntsman at University of Utah.

“Right now, with the COVID, they’re not getting a lot of donations because they can’t hold the events they normally hold, so they’re down significantly on their donations for prostate cancer research,” Parris said.

Ride On Dads was originally meant to launch with a cycling fundraiser through Lava Hot Springs, but that is postponed until 2021 because of the pandemic.

But Parris and his wife and co-founder Tami didn't want to wait to launch the LLC. They decided to start accepting donations, with a goal of raising $7,500 for research.

“It doesn’t go to us. We don’t collect the money, we never see the money, we don’t touch the money, we don’t want the money. It goes straight from the person who donates right to the Huntsman Cancer Institute, specifically for prostate cancer research,” Parris said.

But more than raising money, Ride On Dads' goal is to get men thinking about prostate cancer and encourage them to get tested.

One in nine men will get prostate cancer at some point in their lives, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

When his daughter was on the volleyball team, Parris encouraged the other dads from the team to get a blood test for prostate cancer.

“We encouraged the ten or 12 dads, whatever it was, to go get tested and it turned out one of them actually had prostate cancer and ended up having surgery to avoid it spreading,” Parris said.

Prostate cancer is more easily treated when it's caught early, and can prevent the cancer from spreading, like Parris's did.

To learn more about Ride On Dads and prostate cancer, visit their website here.