On the day Tricia Beach found out she has breast cancer, she also learned she would help build a bike to fight the disease.

Beach, 34, of Concord Township works at Steel City Choppers on Freeport Road. The company was asked by the Caitlin Foundation to build a motorcycle that will be auctioned off along with seven additional custom bikes to benefit breast cancer research and awareness.

"It's ironic that while we build this bike, I'll be going through radiation for the same disease," Beach said.

Her work at the shop includes wet sanding, taping off the flame designs on the bikes and cleaning.

Steel City Choppers and the other motorcycle builders participating in the event will donate their time and money to the cause.

"We would have built this bike regardless of Tricia's diagnosis," said Steve Peffer, owner of the company. "My grandfathers passed away of cancer and I just thought that this sounded like a really great cause."

The event, which began in 2004, is sponsored by the Caitlin Foundation, a nonprofit organization, based in North Carolina. The group is dedicated to raising money for educational programs that inform women about early detection.

The One in Eight motorcycle series is one such program. The name derives from the fact that one in every eight women is affected in some way by breast cancer.

The One in Eight series was inspired by the death of Linda Eastman McCartney. Caitlin founder Ken Vrana worked for the Garland Appeal, a foundation created in Linda's name by her husband, former Beatle Paul McCartney.

The date and location of next year's auction event are still being determined, Vrana said. The date will probably fall sometime in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Since Peffer's cost for building the bike will range between $10,000 and $20,000, he is hoping for community support.

"We are looking for local businesses to sponsor the build. Any donations can be written off on your taxes and sponsors will be recognized nationally," he said.

Once the Steel City Choppers crew determines which of the two hard-tail frames they will use, they will begin to custom fabricate the motorcycle.

"One thing that sets us apart from most other shops is that rather than ordering a part in the mail and simply bolting it to the bike, we hand build almost everything on our choppers," Peffer said.

This bike will feature a custom heart-shaped leather seat, that will have the words "love," "hope," "care," "victory," "faith," "joy," "action," "research," courage" and "cure" hand tooled into it.

"We're going to keep to the same style we use for all of our bikes, which is heavily influenced by bikes from the '50s and '60s," Peffer said.

As the shop prepares the custom chopper for its debut in March at Bike Week in Daytona, Fla., Beach will begin her radiation therapy.

Her success rate is considered to be high because of the disease's early detection. However, Beach doesn't feel lucky.

"In a way it has broken me down," Beach said, as tears began to well up in her eyes, "I have always been an optimist, and I feel like that's been taken away from me."

She said her main concern is the uncertainty of how the disease will affect her relationship with her 6-year-old son, Dawson, and her husband, Greg.

"Supposedly the treatment can make you very fatigued," Beach said.

But Beach is no stranger to this disease. Her mother,

Shirley Dellich of West Sunbury, finished treatment for breast cancer on Nov. 17.

"My friends and family have been extremely supportive and helpful," Beach said. "Especially Steve. He's been more than a boss, he's been a really good friend."

For more information about the project, visit www.steelcitychoppersusa.com or contact the Caitlin foundation at 919-469-5662.