Dear friends and family,

This year I will be riding in my 10th  Pan Mass Challenge (PMC) to support the Dana Faber Cancer Institute (DFCI).  This year in addition to the PMC I will also be hiking 600-700  miles through part of the Appalachian trail to raise funds. I will be leaving June 24, starting in Harpers Ferry West Virginia, and hiking all the way thru to Killington mountain in Vermont.  I do this because every year I ride I find it harder to raise money, so in the past two years I’ve expanding my fund raising efforts by also hiking. I return from my hiking adventure in august, and a day or two later go ride my 192-mile bike ride from Sturbridge to Provincetown MA. I am passionate about fundraising and will continue to relentlessly ask for money to help fight this deadly disease. 

I’m always hearing of new sad stories: someone’s sister, brother, mother, neighbor. This year, a very close high school friend Nicky, died of bone cancer. Every step I take, I will be thinking of her. Can I walk for someone in your life?  Send me a name or a photo so I can honor them as I go.

 It’s up to us to make a difference in these peoples’ lives. We can help provide the funding necessary for drug development, research and patient care.  I starting riding the PMC when my brother in law Todd was sick with pancreatic cancer. After he died, I made it my mission to fight this disease.  Subsequently I also had cancer but was cured through surgery and treatment. I am the lucky one.

I continue to ride for the Patriot Platelet Peddler’s, which supports research to find treatment and cures for multiple myeloma under Dr. Anderson at DFCI.  Dr. Anderson is a world renowned oncologist who has developed lifesaving treatment for this once incurable disease.  

The DFCI is an amazing hospital and research center for cancer.  The research that they do is remarkable.  Everyday there are new discoveries and advancements of treatments and cures.   But still 1,500 people in the U.S. die of cancer everyday.  More research needs to be done.  There has to be better care for families stricken with this disease. So much needs to be done.  Too many people are sick and too many people are dying.    

The PMC is New England’s largest cancer fundraiser in New England.  All the money raised goes to the Jimmy Fund and the Dana Faber Cancer Institute. I make a commitment every year to raise funds. If every one helped out, there will be a cure for this horrible disease.   Please help me in my effort and support me.  

For everyone who has supported me in the past, thank you so much.  Steve and I have raised over $72,000 in the last 9 years.  All because of you!!

Please sponsor me soon!  But the deadline is September 2018.  There are two ways to sponsor me:? 1) Go to the PMC Website http://www2.pmc.org/profile/ds0268

2) Mail a check to me to 148 Oak Hill Drive, Sharon Ma 02067 made payable to the PMC.?All donations, no matter how small, make a difference.  For those who have already sponsored me, thank you!

Thanks?Deborah Shostek