This August, I will once again join thousands of others in cycling 192 miles across the state of Massachusetts – why?
As a young boy, my father, Denis Pembroke, was (and still is) my hero. In addition to fulfilling the duties of a loving father and husband, he served in the United States Marine Corps and the Massachusetts State Police, retiring honorably from both.
In 2016 Denis was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a highly aggressive and malignant brain cancer. Doctors gave him approximately one year to live.
It's now 2019, after intensive radiation treatment and 12 grueling rounds of chemotherapy, Denis the Menace is alive and the cancer is being held at bay, with no tumorous regrowths present.
Although friends and family like to joke that his survival is indicative of the tough bast*rd he is, my father would not be here today without the efforts and expertise of those charged with his care at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
My family will never be able to repay the army of healthcare workers, nurses, doctors, and researchers whose life work facilitated my father’s survival; however, through charitable fundraising, organizations like the Pan-Mass Challenge provide an avenue to assist these professionals in combating cancer.
PMC channels 100% of every rider-raised dollar directly to the Jimmy Fund. This year I have pledged to ride 192 miles with a minimum $5,000 fundraising target that I’d like to eclipse.
Please contribute generously and help us in our continuing efforts to find a cure for cancer – your contributions and the impending effort of my legs truly have the power to bring strength to those who are without it because of this terrible disease.
Semper Fidelis - with love and appreciation,
Brendan M Pembroke
