This summer I will ride my bike 192 miles across Massachusetts as part of the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC www.pmc.org) to raise money for cutting-edge research in my department at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). Here in Cancer Immunology and Virology (CIV), I am inspired and driven by witnessing and partaking in the development of innovations in cancer immunotherapy, a new field rapidly emerging as the next frontline against cancer. Cancers that just a few years ago seemed incurable are now being eradicated by therapies designed to boost the immune system’s response to tumors. Recent successes in drugs that CIV has played a role in developing lead us to believe that many of the therapies now in development will follow suit. Many of these will come as a result of your help, as CIV is the epicenter of the development of many of these recent successes.
To survive, cancers must evade the immune system, since part of our immunity is designed to destroy any of our own cells that develop abnormally. Here, we study the basic mechanisms behind how different cancers evade the immune system and work to interfere with this evasion to allow the immune system to do its job and kill tumor cells. As we gain a greater understanding of these complex mechanisms, we consequently find weaknesses in cancer cells that we can exploit through various methods – antibody therapies, vaccines, small molecules, T-Cell modifications – the possibilities are nearly endless and my department works to develop these tools.
Cancer research is an interesting field in that our goal is to make our work obsolete. I am lucky to say I have lost no family or close friends to cancer. Thus, I have no story to share about a personal battle with cancer, but I am in the slim minority even at my age. However, if I leave my lab and walk a short distance I arrive at the Jimmy Fund Clinic where I see firsthand what cancer does to patients and their families. Our goal is to ensure nobody must struggle with cancer and to make treatments more tolerable so nobody else has such a story to share. As you very well know, we are not there yet, but your help will move us towards that goal.
I will be riding with Team Velominati, a team that in 2017 raised nearly $200,000 for DFCI, $90,000 of which went to CIV. The PMC is 100% efficient – all money donated goes directly to funding our efforts, and consequently, 100% of your donation is tax-deductible. Before making a donation, please check if your employer matches gifts, usually a simple Google search will work. With my team, I will also be going the extra mile by starting a day early at the New York border and riding an additional 100 miles to the start of the PMC to demonstrate my commitment to fighting cancer. In conjunction, I am increasing my fundraising goal by 50% to $7500, and this year our team’s goal has risen by the same percentage to $300,000. Your contribution will help us at DFCI realize our goal to cure cancer through immunotherapy.
Thank you for joining me on this ride to cure cancer,
Eric
This summer I will ride my bike 192 miles across Massachusetts as part of the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC www.pmc.org) to raise money for cutting-edge research in my department at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). Here in Cancer Immunology and Virology (CIV), I am inspired and driven by witnessing and partaking in the development of innovations in cancer immunotherapy, a new field rapidly emerging as the next frontline against cancer. Cancers that just a few years ago seemed incurable are now being eradicated by therapies designed to boost the immune system’s response to tumors. Recent successes in drugs that CIV has played a role in developing lead us to believe that many of the therapies now in development will follow suit. Many of these will come as a result of your help, as CIV is the epicenter of the development of many of these recent successes.
To survive, cancers must evade the immune system, since part of our immunity is designed to destroy any of our own cells that develop abnormally. Here, we study the basic mechanisms behind how different cancers evade the immune system and work to interfere with this evasion to allow the immune system to do its job and kill tumor cells. As we gain a greater understanding of these complex mechanisms, we consequently find weaknesses in cancer cells that we can exploit through various methods – antibody therapies, vaccines, small molecules, T-Cell modifications – the possibilities are nearly endless and my department works to develop these tools.
Cancer research is an interesting field in that our goal is to make our work obsolete. I am lucky to say I have lost no family or close friends to cancer. Thus, I have no story to share about a personal battle with cancer, but I am in the slim minority even at my age. However, if I leave my lab and walk a short distance I arrive at the Jimmy Fund Clinic where I see firsthand what cancer does to patients and their families. Our goal is to ensure nobody must struggle with cancer and to make treatments more tolerable so nobody else has such a story to share. As you very well know, we are not there yet, but your help will move us towards that goal.
I will be riding with Team Velominati, a team that in 2017 raised nearly $200,000 for DFCI, $90,000 of which went to CIV. The PMC is 100% efficient – all money donated goes directly to funding our efforts, and consequently, 100% of your donation is tax-deductible. Before making a donation, please check if your employer matches gifts, usually a simple Google search will work. With my team, I will also be going the extra mile by starting a day early at the New York border and riding an additional 100 miles to the start of the PMC to demonstrate my commitment to fighting cancer. In conjunction, I am increasing my fundraising goal by 50% to $7500, and this year our team’s goal has risen by the same percentage to $300,000. Your contribution will help us at DFCI realize our goal to cure cancer through immunotherapy.
Thank you for joining me on this ride to cure cancer,
Eric
| 2018 | $7,035.08 | Sturbridge to Provincetown Inn (2-Day) |
