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 $55,000 – last year we topped $52,000 and joined over 6000 other riders in raising $51 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 year we are nine strong. This will be Mark Deck’s 9th year. Jonathan Lilienfeld and Jason Yarrington ride for the 5th time and Steven Branson rides for the 4th time. Nancy Serpa rode Day 2 with us last year and will ride it all this year. Kathy Carlson whose daughter Maddie Carlson is our team's PMC Pedal Partner will also be back. Mark's two daughters Heidi and Michela rode in 2016 and are back for 2018. Kevin Lewis joined the group in 2013 and this will be his 5th ride. Kevin rides for team PwC, a major sponsor of the PMC with over 100 riders last year.

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.