Thank you for visiting my profile page. I hope you will consider donating to my 11th ride. A lot has happened since last summer.
PMC August 2023 was an ideal weekend. After the unreliable spring and early summer weather for rides, it seemed the PMC organizers had found a way to order up the perfect forecast – dry, temps in the 80’s, no humidity. We rode from Wellesley to Bourne to Provincetown that first weekend in August pinching ourselves at our luck. No cases of heat exhaustion like the heat wave the year before or having to stay warm while riding through driving rain. It was a perfect weekend spent reuniting with PMC family and celebrating the work of Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
After sending my “Thank you/Recap” email sharing the 5-star 2023 PMC review to many of you, I joined Mike for a follow-up appointment with his urologist. He had a prostate biopsy the week before due to elevated PSA tests, and we were going to get the results. The results were positive. He had very early-stage prostate cancer. It was good news that he caught it early, giving him time to enjoy back country motorcycle rides through August. He scheduled his PET scan at the end of the month.
We celebrated my birthday Labor Day weekend quietly, agreeing to a family celebration the following weekend when my sister, Susan, came back from visiting friends in Montreal with her husband. I was flying to Chicago on Tuesday for business and upon landing, got a call from my niece that my sister was hospitalized. She had partial paralysis in her arms, and it was getting worse. The neurologists at Lahey hospital were stumped. Until a week later, when the gynecologist discovered cervical cancer.
Mike, my MAN, had cancer. Susan, my one and only sister, had cancer. How quickly life changes.
Susan began chemotherapy in the hospital at the end of September. The oncologists at Lahey and Dana Farber agreed on her treatment plan – chemotherapy, 6 courses, and then reassess her condition in January to decide on radiation. My sister faced her diagnosis with courage, strength, and resilience while keeping her sense of humor and bravely going where she needed to go. After finishing 3 weeks of radiation in April, the results are stunning. Her doctors couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. Elimination of the tumor and clear scans.
Mike sought opinions from multiple specialists and is recovering nicely from his prostatectomy in February. He is cancer free. We are thankful he was diagnosed early, giving him time to make treatment decisions on his own terms.
In 2024, my motivation to ride the PanMass Challenge has never been greater. This will be my eleventh ride. I’ve raised over $66,500 in that time. I want to surpass $75,000 this year, The One in a Billion year when the PMC’s fundraising goal is to reach $1,000,000,000 in total funds raised since 1980.
Today, because of Dana Farber Cancer Institute and advancements in cancer treatment, doctors are better equipped to give patients and their families something remarkable – HOPE. We ARE getting closer to cures for all types of cancer through immunotherapy, early detection, targeted chemotherapies for specific cancers, and improved patient quality of life. Differences I see in more favorable patient outcomes since my late husband, Jim, succumbed to lung cancer 13 years ago. HOPE to celebrate more birthdays. HOPE of more good news at checkups. HOPE for a future without cancer.
My sister is doing well today. She returned to work, part time in May and feels better every day. She’s getting her life back. Mike is cancer free, getting ready to ride again this summer. And me, I have the most wonderful gift to welcome in just a few weeks. My first grandchild. It has been a challenging 8 months since August. Each and every day I am grateful loved ones are with us. Your donation to my 11th PMC ride will give HOPE to those who need it most. Our family certainly needed it when we least expected it. Be with me when I ride in August 2024 for Ellin, John, Jim, Mike, Susan, and the generations to come. Be One in a Billion in 2024 as we get closer by the mile to curing cancer.
All my best,
Bonnie
Team LungStrong
