Cancer touches us ALL. Whether it’s coming right at us or lurking in the shadows, no one escapes its reach. Every year the list grows: family, friends, business colleagues, neighbors, community leaders, and children -- lung, prostate, colon, cervical, ovarian, bone, breast, brain, thyroid, blood and more. Cancer knows no geographic bounds, striking loved ones wherever they live worldwide. And it can strike more than once.
But it’s not hopeless. It IS something we all can each do something about. Every year there are more stories of winning than losing, and fighting makes a difference to us all. Think of all the cancer survivors you know, and how much they mean to you and those around them. Every day is worth fighting for.
At a time when so much can seem hopeless, this is our way not to be helpless. Please join us in making a difference again this year. As a team, our goal is to raise $60,000 with 6 riders – last year we topped $85,000 with 8 riders and joined over 6,000 other riders in raising a record $56 million for cancer research and treatment at Dana Farber. We can go over the top again with your help.
Team THANKS is a small group of riders committed to making a big difference in the battle to defeat cancer. This will be Mark Deck’s 10th year. Jonathan Lilienfeld will ride for the 6th time and Steven (living proof) Branson rides for the 5th time. Kathy Carlson rides year 3 -- her daughter Maddie has kicked cancer twice since we first started riding for her as a PMC Pedal Partner in 2016. Nancy Serpa also rides with us for her 3rd straight year. Mark's son Wilbur will ride for the first time this year (ding ding ding)! In addition, Kevin Lewis from Team PwC rides with us for his 8th time.
You can read more about why each of us rides by visiting our individual rider pages.
We took the name - THANKS - in honor of Mark’s father, Raymond Henry Deck, who used the slogan THANKS in his United Way fundraising efforts in the greater Hartford area. He died in 2008 at the age of 86 after a long fight with prostate cancer. With quiet determination, he kept his cancer at bay for over 15 years during which time he enriched the lives of countless others through his community involvement and his role as a loving grandfather. THANKS.
