This year I will be participating in the Pan-Mass Challenge - a bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country - to bring us Closer by the Mile to a cure for cancer.

I am dedicating my ride in memory of my childhood friend, Lisa Schelmbauer Andersson who died of pancreatic cancer on Nov. 14, 2024. Lisa was the 1st person I met when I moved to Saratoga in 1972 and we were instant friends. Lisa exuded positivity and optimism in the many sports we played with golf being a mutual passion that we shared in our adult life. As a Nurse Practioner she healed many and fought hard in her own cancer battle.

Lisa was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April, 2022. She endured several hundred rounds of chemotherapy to prepare for the Whipple Surgery in December, 2022. After a year of being cancer free it came back. Lisa never complaned...rather researched ways to get more time and healed herself spiritually. We last spoke 2 weeks before she passed as she called to say good bye and thanked me for being a loyal friend. I asked her if she was scared. "No, I have healed and am at peace." She went on to tell me the soul retrival work she had done in the previous 8 weeks and mentioned a book of hers she wanted me to have. I will treasure this 32 minute conversation forever as it was a beautiful way to say good bye.

Lisa certainly isn't the only one I have lost to cancer. My nana passed of pancreatic cancer in 1986 as well as a cousin at 70 and a family friend in her 40's. Unfortunately there is no cure for pancreatic cancer yet. Breast, colon, brain, cervical, lung, bladder, prostate, bone- there are so many and we all have family and friends we have lost or who are battling cancer today. Cancer does not discriminate and there is still so much work to be done to cure this deadly disease.

Since its founding in 1980, PMC riders like me have raised more than $1 billion for lifesaving cancer research, treatment and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the country's top cancer care hospitals. PMC is making a difference in the lives of patients at Dana-Farber and around the world. The funds I raise support the innovative work of doctors, nurses, and scientists in their search for cures for cancers and related diseases.

100 percent of every dollar I raise goes directly to Dana-Farber, meaning that your donation has a real impact! Please dig deep and donate to my PMC fundraising and help me reach my fundraising goal. If you can't donate please say a prayer for Lisa and for all those who have passed or are fighting this battle. Thank you.

Love,

Alicia