This year I am excited to say that I will be participating in the Pan-Mass Challenge to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 100% of every dollar riased goes directly to cancer treatment and research for patients at Dana-Farber. Over 90% of people are affected directly, or indirectly, by cancer. Whether diagnosed personally, family member, friend, coworker, we can all say we know of someone close to us who has faced cancer. Events like this one are imperative to continuing the fight against cancer and being able to lower these statistcs.

Many of you who know me may know I have participated in similar events representing the A-T Children's Project, an organization very near and dear to me as my brother suffered from Ataxia-Telangiectasia. One of the many ugly parts of A-t is an increased risk of cancer, one that Andrew experienced as well as many other A-T patients. The research performed at a large research center like Dana-Farber can drastically help improve the chances A-t patients have at fighting cancer if diagnosed. Along with my brother's case of cancer, many people near and dear to me have battled with cancer. Fortunately, with great treatment, many of these people have been able to beat their cancer. My goal is to participate in events like these to help these research foundations be able to make cancer a winning battle for everyone that is presented with one.