Let me first say, I am asking you to donate money. Again.

But, once again, it has been a different year. Very different.

This year I will be riding my 17th Pan Mass Challenge, which means I have been cancer free for 18 years. Sometimes my melanoma diagnoses and surgery feels like just a bump in the road of life. Lucky me.

For others, friends and their family members, it has not been a bump in the road. It has been excruciating emotionally and physically, and too many have not survived. That's why, a week after I turn 77, I will ride the PMC. On Saturday 8/3, I will ride the 84 mile segment from Wellesley to Bourne, my longest ride in a few years. The BIG ride for me tho, will be Sunday, August 4th. I will be joining our team captain and dearest friend Martha Gold, ride the 25 mile segment. She is currently undergoing treatment at Dana Farber for pancreatic cancer. Many of us from our team, Stem Cell Cyclists, will join her for that ride, including Corey Cutler, MD, Director of Stem Cell Transportation and Research at Dana Farber.

I will also be riding with my friend and Spinning buddy Stephanie in my heart. She has started treatment for cervical cancer.

Now, more than ever, I am thankful for the practical on-going research that made my melanoma surgery successful. We all have too many dear friends in therapy/recovering from many kinds of cancer. We are so fortunate that so much research and therapy has been developed in the last 50 years. The Dana Farber Cancer Institute leads cutting edge research as well as providing therapies and cures.

Please join me by donating now. I ride to end cancer.

The Pan Mass Challenge is the first and largest athletic event fund raiser.  Every dollar raised goes to the Jimmy Fund of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This year, with our contributions, the donations raised by this bicycle ride will top one billion dollars. You and I have donated over $137,000 since I began participating in 2008.

I've made a personal commitment to ride and raise at least $10,000. I hope you can help me achieve this significant goal. Last year, my brother Joel and his wife Joy double-matched me, for each dollar I donated. I also match any PMC riders donating to my ride.

Riding the PMC, I'm standing up for hope, good science, and for life. And to acknowledge and remember, that for some people we know and love, the cure has not come soon enough.

Thank you, and please join me by donating now.

Ben Kellman