I am excited to announce that I will be riding the Pan Mass Challenge for my second time this summer.

When I reflect on last year's Pan Mass Challenge, I am overwhelmed with gratitude and inspiration. Although the ride was only two days, the months leading up to it were filled with countless hours of learning how to road bike and fundraising to support cancer research at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. There were many inspiring moments throughout the journey, including people cheering us on at 6:00am on both days of the ride, the many volunteers who made it possible, and riding through an alley of signs with children's faces on them with the words I am here because of you. However, the most overwhelming moment didn't happen during the ride; it happened the day that I met my fundraising goal. By meeting it, I had not only secured my spot to ride in the PMC but also felt the pride of raising over $7,000 for the hospital that saved my mom’s life.

If you haven't been personally touched by cancer, someone you know has. While it is a scary ratio that 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, the solution to lower that ratio is more research. However, research isn't free. 100% of donations for the Pan-Mass Challenge go directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston to fund countless studies and trials that work toward more efficient treatment and ultimately, finding a cure. This year, the PMC will top $1 billion in total donations toward cancer research. Every dollar counts.

This wouldn't be so relevant to me if my mom hadn't been diagnosed with breast cancer, but to make it even more relevant, just months before her proposed course of treatment began, a study was released that allowed her to do a much less invasive and more efficient/effective treatment. The study was one of many that benefited from donations and events like the PMC.

I hope you will consider supporting my ride and the work done at DFCI. The life-changing research they conduct would not be possible without donations like yours!