I will, once more, be riding in the Pan Massachusetts Challenge on August 2 & 3, 2025 to raise funds for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.Thank you all who have supported me over the years and continue to do so.

When I committed to do this for the first time in 2002 I did so to help those fighting cancer, to honor the memory of my father who lost his battle with cancer 51 years ago and to pay tribute to friends, family, and loved ones lost to this disease. Each year this honor roll grew along with my commitment and determination to do something that would help. There was never any shortage of additional emotional inspiration to continue. This past year has been no different as friends and colleagues diagnosed with prostate cancer sought me out to discuss my experience and treatment options available to battle this disease.

My experience with prostate cancer and the successful surgery I underwent in 2023 has altered my perspective a bit. The support I receive from my wife and children, my family, friends, college classmates, neighbors, and colleagues with whom I work continues to be a profound life-affirming experience. The world class medical care I have received gives me an even greater appreciation for the advances made in combating this disease and the work yet to be done. The fact that the federal government is significantly cutting back on research funding this year makes this fund raising effort more important than ever.

The PMC is an unbelievably rewarding annual committment to raise money for life-saving cancer care and research through the Jimmy Fund. While I enjoy the many people I meet who share this passion, it is also a rare opportunity for introspection, or, as one friend refers to it, rolling meditation. I enjoy the physical challenge in support of this truly worthy cause and look forward to this remarkable event every year. While I think about those lost to this disease while I am riding, I ride for the living, and to support the tireless efforts of all at Dana Farber working to find a cure.

Like many of you, my family is no stranger to this disease. In addition to my experience and my father's battle with cancer, I have a brother who successfully beat this disease 35 years ago. I have college classmates, including some whose children have dealt with this disease, and a number of friends who have dealt with cancer in various forms, two of whom without a doubt are alive today because of the care they received at Dana Farber. I have another friend whose two year old granddaughter's lifesaving treatment at Dana Farber included two surgeries and multiple radiation treatments. Their experiences add to my determination to do something again that could help the effort to combat this disease. This amazing collective effort cannot help but make you feel that you are part of something much bigger than yourself and you are truly making a difference and contributing to the real advances being made at this tremendous institution. This disease will be beaten, and when it is I am convinced it will be due in large part to the amazing work that takes place at Dana Farber.

This year I am again a member of the Patriots Platelet Pedalers, a team of riders sponsored by the New England Patriots Foundation and the Kraft family, that raised over $1.5 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2024. Last year over 6000 cyclists and 4000 volunteers participated in the PMC. Cyclists are required to raise between $500 and $6000 to ride, depending on the chosen route. I will be riding from Sturbridge to Bourne on Saturday August 2, 2024 and from Bourne to Provincetown on Sunday, August 3, 2024.

They tell me it will be 186 miles over two days. My goal is to raise at least $8000. Your donation is fully tax deductible and thanks to corporate underwriting of the event, every single dollar donated goes directly to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute to help patients and continue its groundbreaking research. Please donate on line using the link http://profile.pmc.org/MM0205 or mail donations to me at 11 MacNeill Drive, Southborough, MA 01772. Please make checks payable to the PMC.

THANK YOU, again, for your support and your help in the battle. The patients at Dana Farber and their loved ones truly benefit from your generosity!

Mark