Entering the Home Stretch

The end of July always means one thing for me - the Pan-Mass Challenge is SOON! Time to get those final hill climbs in, and to send those final fundraising emails. On Saturday, many of my teammates and I went on an 83-mile training ride. For me, it was the longest and hardest training ride I will do before the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC) next weekend. The weather was perfect - warm and sunny - the kind of weather I hope to have for the PMC. But the weather and camaraderie wasn't the best part of the ride; it was seeing our current pedal partner, Zinnia, and our former pedal partner, Maya.

The team with Zinnia!

This is our third year of having Zinnia as our pedal partner. She is an adorable six-year-old that was diagnosed with bilateral nephroblastomatosis when she was four. Zinnia has been through a lot in her young life, but I am thrilled to say that she is thriving, thanks to her amazing spirit and the wonderful researchers and care team at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute! 

Maya, the daughter of a colleague of mine, was our pedal partner from 2017 through 2019. When Maya was 5, doctors found a large mass on one of her kidneys. Following surgery to remove the Clear Cell Sarcoma tumors, a very rare renal cancer. After radiation and chemotherapy, Maya beat her cancer, again with the help of the amazing team at Dana-Farber.

The team with Maya!

Zinnia's and Maya's are two of many resounding success stories of how Dana-Farber is changing lives for the better. I'm thrilled to be a part of the Pan-Mass Challenge, which raises over half of the funding that the Jimmy Fund raises for Dana Farber each year. A few weeks ago, the PMC crossed a monumental milestone - raising $1 BILLION since 1980. With your support, we will help Dana-Farber ensure that more kids like Zinnia and Maya have similar success stories.

As I enter the home stretch before my 21st PMC, my legs feel ready for the ride ahead, but I am still short of my ambitious fundraising goal of $20,000. Please make your cancer-fighting donation today. 100% of it will go straight to the Jimmy Fund in support of the innovative research that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is doing. Research that saved the life of my team captain, Dave, several other teammates, Zinnia and Maya, and many of our friends and loved ones. Together, we are making cancer HISTORY. Thank you!