For years, I watched my mother ride hundreds of miles on her bike with half of a left lung and the rest of her lungs riddled with Stage IV lung cancer. Sometimes I would drop her off at the start line; sometimes I would cheer her on at the finish; and I was always inspired by her strength and resilience. She completed this ride 13 times, and this year will be my first, in honor of her 20 year battle and her passing in late 2024.

I, of course, will be raising the funds through my mother's Team LUNGStrong, meaning 100% of all donations will go towards thoracic oncology research at Dana Farber. Team LUNGStrong has raised over $7 million for lung cancer research since my mom founded it in 2011. Her relentless work inspired so many in the Pan Mass community, and I'm honored to be doing my part to carry on her incredible legacy.

No one can summarize my mom's journey and the importance of the Pan Mass Challenge to my mom's journey better than herself, so I invite you to watch her speech at a PMC event from last May here. In her speech, she talks about the ways that lung cancer treatment changed over her 20 year battle. Often, thanks to research funded by events like the PMC, innovative therapies would come out just in time to keep my mom going when she needed it. Also, on the emotional impact of the Pan Mass, and why she refused to use an E-bike despite her reduced lung capacity, my mom said,

The pain of riding is part of remembering all of my friends and teammates who are no longer here because of cancer.

These words, and many other memories of my mom will be playing through my mind on loop as I complete this year's trek from Sturbridge to Provincetown, and I know my mom will be guiding me along the way. I'll be riding alongside my dad, uncle, cousins and friends, not only in memory of my mom, but also in honor of my aunt who was diagnosed with lung cancer in May of 2024 and is doing well after a successful lobectomy this past June.