This will be my second-year riding in the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC), a 162-mile bicycle ride to raise money for cancer research. For those of you who supported my inaugural ride last year, I am so grateful for you and your support of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). I hope that you will consider supporting me on this journey again this year.
There are many reasons that I am choosing to ride again, but my biggest reason is to honor my parents. 2 of every 5 Americans will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lives. For me, 2 in 5 hits close to home…and close to the heart. I lost both of my parents to cancer. May 13, 2025 will mark the 3rd anniversary of my father’s passing from pancreatic cancer. And, September 1, 2025 will mark the 10-year anniversary of my mother’s passing from a rare cancer, leiomyosarcoma.
To me, my parents were perfect. My mother was my rock. She taught me as much about living and loving as she did about strength and grace. She was determined. She was steadfast. She was nurturing. She was loving. And she was beautiful. She showed incredible strength through her life and throughout her journey with cancer, always dignified and as determined as she was optimistic. In her last year, some of my best times with her were when she was visiting Boston for her treatments at DFCI.
My father was the consummate family man. His family was the center of this world. His focus was on providing for us. He pushed us as hard as he loved us. After a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, he moved to Boston to live with me and to be treated here to have access to the best care. Despite access to the best and most caring doctors and nurses and the best treatments, he succumbed to cancer just shy of one year after his diagnosis.
Though each of my parents were unlucky with their diagnoses, if winning is joy and grace, I won by having them as parents, companions, and friends. They were both kind, compassionate, nurturing, loyal, and loving (especially loving). Despite their diagnoses, they held on to hope. They believed in their treatment, they respected their care teams, and they believed that things would continue to get better for patients like them. I believe that, too.
Even with tremendous innovation and progress in treatments, many researchers do not have the money that they need to perform important research. Every day we read about more funding cuts and the impacts on research. Sadly, DFCI – recognized as one of the top three cancer in the world – is not immune from this. Proposed NIH funding cuts of up to 50% would be a significant blow to DFCI and its ability to develop cancer breakthroughs and to treat patients like my parents.
For me, riding in the PMC and raising money for DFCI is more important than ever before. 100% of every dollar donated to this cause goes directly to funding cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “Research Powers Progress.”
My parents are my primary reason to ride this PMC again this year, but there are countless others:
- I ride for the those who are battling cancer and its survivors, including my partner's mother, Patricia Buell, who is a 20+ year survivor of neuroendocrine cancer and her brother, Rick Buell, who just last year completed a successful stem cell transplant in his fight against AML.
- I ride for the countless friends who have lost or who are witnessing loved ones struggle through the physical and emotional toll that cancer takes.
- I ride for those who dedicate their lives to help eradicate this disease and who are working tirelessly towards cutting-edge cancer treatments and technologies.
As Captain of Team Wolf Pack, I am riding with over a dozen of my colleagues and friends to raise funds for cancer research and treatment at DFCI. My partner, Jen Buell, is riding with us, too. Through our work and in our lives, we have the privilege of knowing countless individuals who have made it their mission to blaze a path for patients and to contribute to science to help eradicate this disease. We ride together to support all the extraordinary work being done by the DFCI to fuel cutting-edge cancer research.
I appreciate your support in this journey. Every mile and every dollar counts.
With gratitude,
Christina
