This year, I lost a co-worker to lung cancer.  Lynette Fouser was still in her prime, raising a family and working diligently with me in a new biotech company developing cancer immunotherapy drugs.  She had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer which had stopped responding to the best treatment option, when she sat me down and revealed the state of her illness.  She was feeling ok at the time, but we both knew what was to follow.  I asked if there was anything special she wanted to do in the near future. I was impressed that all she really wanted to do was be with her family and keep working to see what she could do to advance the science, in the hope that there will be a day when others will not have the same fate as she eventually did.  I will never forget my feelings about that conversation.

     Some of us, like me, spend their careers in pursuit of better medicines for this horrid disease, while others, like Patrice, help in any way they can. One constant in our lives has been the Pan Mass Challenge, where we are in our 21st and 14th years respectively.  For those not familiar with this event, the PMC is a 2-day 180-mile bike ride that has raised more than $500 million for patient care and cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through The Jimmy Fund. EVERY dollar you donate goes to this cause as there is no overhead, unheard of for charity events!

     Thanks to your generosity over these years we, ourselves, have raised close to $200,000 with this event.  New treatment options, particularly in the immunotherapy space that I work in, has truly been miraculous but there is much left to do, so that the next Lynette Fouser will have more options than she sadly did.

     Please consider a donation; generosity is always appreciated but any amount you can give will make a difference. Dedicate it to someone you love, no doubt you know someone whose life has been affected by this disease.

We know we can count on you to get us to our fundraising milestone of $20,000.

Thanks so much for your continued support! We so appreciate it!

Mike and Patrice