Dear friends, family, and members of Team Lee-
It’s that time of year again, and I will be riding my 11th Pan Mass Challenge the first weekend in August. And as always, I need your help. The PMC is not about the ride, the camaraderie that you find along the way, the shared sense of purpose, or the amazing stories you hear as you ride. Fundamentally, it’s about the money. It’s the largest single athletic fundraising event in the country, and it makes up over 62% of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue. 100% of every rider-raised dollar goes directly to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute – one of the world’s leading cancer research and treatment hospitals.
And more personally, it’s the place that saved Lee’s life – twice!
Again, this year, I will be riding the two-day, 192-mile ride – from Sturbridge, MA to the tip of Cape Cod in Provincetown. For the second year, my oldest son, Chris and my daughter-in-law, Grace are riding with me. After the heat last year, I didn’t expect to see them again as riders – but they are showing a lot of grit. It’s a beautiful thing and such a special tribute to Lee. She would be overwhelmed to know this.
People ask me how long I’m going to keep riding, and I really don’t have an answer. I initially wanted to raise $100,000. Then I wanted to get to 10 years. Next, I’d like to get us over $200,000. In the years I have been riding, we’ve raised just over $190,000. So, this year should make that goal happen. Then I will reevaluate. It’s such an emotional ride for me that so many things go into deciding to keep going.
My first-year riding, I was going up the final hill into P-Town and chatting with the rider next to me, who happened to be from Holyoke. He told me a story of his own battle with a very rare form of stomach cancer. He said only Dana-Farber had a scientist/researcher working on this unique variation, and the treatment saved his life. They had told him that the funding to do this research came from the PMC, as these dollars allowed them to do things many other hospitals or research centers just don’t have the funding for. This rider told me he vowed that if he made it, he would ride the PMC. These are the types of conversations you have with others along the way. They are inspiring, amazing, emotional, and many times heartbreaking.
And as we make so many strides fighting cancer, it continues to strike those around us. Just this month I’ve had a good friend from South Hadley and two work colleagues all get diagnosed with the “C” word. We simply must keep fighting. There is no alternative!
As I say each year, I’ll ride the miles if you write the check. It is truly a team effort, and none of it matters without your support. Every single one of us knows someone who has been touched by cancer. It’s a terrible disease that is indiscriminate, terrifying, and many times deadly. Yet so many advances, new treatments and targeted therapies have made it much more survivable that 45 years ago when Lee was first diagnosed. Much of that has happened because of Dana-Farber! And much of Dana- Farber’s funding comes from the PMC!
Please consider supporting me again this year – in memory of Lee and all the people you know who have been touched by cancer. This is so important and worthy of your help. Join us again this year by going to: pmc.org/DC0366 and making your donation. Or you can simply mail a check made out to either the PMC or the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and mail it to me at: 40 Lyon Green, South Hadley, MA 010175.
I can never tell you enough how much your support means to me. Lee was such an incredible, loving, beautiful and giving person, and this ride has become such an amazing tribute and rallying point for so many of us who knew her. Thank you!
David Casey
Notable stat – In the past five years alone, Dana-Farber has fueled the development of more than half of all FDA-approved cancer drugs.
If you have a moment, take the time to view where your dollars go and how important they are at: www.pmc.org/dana-farber-cancer-institute
