As a little kid, I will always remember the brisk morning in early August where my Nana, brother, and sister would go watch our parents ride the Pan Mass Challenge. Each year, we would spend late nights making signs and posters to cheer on the riders that would whizz by us. In the morning, we would wake up with excitement to get jelly donuts from our favorite shop in Eastham to bring to our parents and cheer on the riders. When our parents would ride up to our spot with their team, we would scream with joy and excitement. They would devour the jelly donuts and Gatorades after already riding 150 miles in their Pan Mass journey. As I grew older over the years, I began to focus less on the mouthwatering jelly donuts and more on my Nana. As she sat at the street corner for over a decade to cheer on riders with her sign, she would yell “I am a cancer survivor because of you”! I began to realize that my parent’s team was not the only one that stopped to see my Nana. Over the years, dozens and dozens of riders would stop to give her hugs, thank her for cheering each year, and encouraging her to continue the hard fight against cancer. I began to realize how special my Nana was for the Pan Mass, one of the many quintessential links between the broader chain that unites riders, survivors, and patients actively battling cancer.
Sadly, my Nana lost her battle with cancer a few years ago after beating the disease three prior times. It truly crushed me to know that Pan Mass riders would ride through the Eastham street corner that my Nana normally cheered at, only to see her not there that year. With the passing of my Nana, I decided to ride the Pan Mass in 2022 as I realized how important it is to continue the fight against cancer. In my first year, after a long 150 miles, I clipped out of my bike to stand in front of the very corner that my Nana had sat at for almost two decades. With astonishment, I viewed a sign on the street that said, “Lil’s Corner”, named after my Nana since this was the place she cheered. This was an extremely special moment in my life as I realized that although my Nana may not be sitting there in front of me, she was still there in spirit cheering me and the thousands of other riders pedaling for a cure.
I want to do my part to ensure that loved ones, colleagues, and strangers don’t have to battle this disease any more. As I continue my passion for raising money to fight cancer, I enter my third year riding the Pan Mass challenge. Although my Nana lost her battle, there are many others that are fighting cancer and can use our help. I ride in honor of my Nana, Patrick Agresti, and so many other fighters that spend every waking hour fighting to win their battle against cancer. Even over the past two years of riding, I have witnessed significant improvements, survivor stores, and enhancements in healthcare to limit the population that fights cancer. I will continue riding for this cause as long as my legs will carry me. I appreciate any and all support for my ride as we work to eradicate this disease and make cancer a thing of the past.
If you wish to donate to my ride, I would be so grateful for any support.
My donation link is: https://donate.pmc.org/BO0087
If you would like to send a check, you can make it out the Pan Mass Challenge and mail to me at 205 Carolyn Circle, Marshfield MA 02050. The deadline for pledging is October 1, 2024. Thank you all for the support and love. I can’t wait to get out there and beat this thing!
Brendan O’Connell
