Central Iowa teen sells bananas to raise money for children's cancer charity on RAGBRAI

SAINT CHARLES — Regan Anderson went bananas for charity Wednesday by selling bananas to hungry RAGBRAI riders.

Anderson, 16, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma at age 7. Now he is an Interstate 35 High School student working to become an Eagle Scout. As part of his work, he sold bananas to riders on the fourth day of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa for the lofty price of $1 and donated proceeds to Children's Cancer Connection, a Johnston-based nonprofit that supports Iowa families affected by childhood cancers.

Anderson was spared a life-threatening battle with Hodgkin's lymphoma, though it caused his lymph nodes to swell. He still has a scar on the left side of his neck where a lymph node was removed. Just under his right shoulder is a scar from his chemotherapy port.

While the disease spared him the worst, it still affected him and his family deeply, Anderson said. But like many teenage boys Anderson shrugged it off, instead focusing on being healthy, playing golf for I-35 High and not dwelling on the past.

"My dad thinks about it all the time," Anderson said. "My mom doesn't like it either. It doesn't affect me all that much because I'm nine years removed."

Children's Cancer Connection supported Anderson's family when he was sick and still supports him, even nine years later, Anderson said. The charity still sends his family gift packages. Earlier this summer he attended a summer camp held by the charity.

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Well before dawn at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, Anderson set up a booth in Saint Charles with 1,000 bananas. He wrote a note telling his story, and placed it on the tables. Anderson sold bananas for $1 and also took donations in cash and Venmo. Proceeds will buy blankets for Camp Heart Connection, a Boone camp the charity runs.

But the work will not be done to get his Eagle Scout rank once he earns the funds. Anderson said he still needs to hold a community work day to make the blankets.

"Anyone from Iowa that has a childhood cancer can go to this organization and they will help them out no matter what," Anderson said. "Even nine years cancer-free I'm still going to things with them and they're still helping me out."

By 7 a.m. Wednesday, there were long lines of riders looking for bananas at his stand.

"We had a couple people come real early," Anderson said. "We were thinking about getting 2,000, but a couple people talked us down to 1,000."

Philip Joens is riding his 19th RAGBRAI. He has completed the river-to-river trek seven times. He covers retail and real estate for the Des Moines Register and can be reached at 515-284-8184 at pjoens@registermedia.com or on Twitter @Philip_Joens.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Central Iowa teen sells bananas to raise money for children's cancer charity on RAGBRAI