On the first weekend in August, I will join thousands of cyclists in the PMC, the annual bike-a-thon that raises money for research and care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston. 

I first started riding in the PMC in 1990. I was already motivated back then to take action in some way after having lost several family members to cancer including my uncle, and both paternal grandparents. Since that time, I have lost friends, and other family members to this terrible disease. My interest in and commitment to the PMC has only amplified over the years.

For the past 9 years I have been riding as part of Team Path to the Cure.   All (and I mean 100%) of funds raised by our team go to Dr Andy Place's Cancer and Blood Disorders center at Dana Farber.  Dr Place (MD/Phd) is part of Team Path to the Cure.  He and his team treat children with high risk leukemias and lymphomas - patients with cancer that has responded poorly to front-line treatment or whose disease has returned after treatment.  

One of the most important elements of Andy's work is setting up and running clinical trials aimed to develop new cancer therapies - and many times administering promising therapies to children for the first time.  Results from these early trials are a critical step in developing lifesaving therapies that can improve outcomes in pediatric patients worldwide.   This year we are aiming to help Andy and his team set up and launch his latest trial at 8 pediatric centers across the country.

Thank you for supporting Dr Place's research and our team's mission for bringing us one (or more) steps closer to a cure.

Andrew