Dear Supporters,
Once again I am participating in the country's largest single fundrasing event for cancer, The Pan Mass Challenge (PMC), a cycling workout consisting of several thousand people riding one or two days during the first weekend in August. One-hundred percent of donations go to supporting research and treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. This year I signed up for a one-day 85-mile ride from Wellesley to Bourne, Massachusetts with the goal of raising $6,000. I'll be riding in memory of my son, Jonathan Greenleaf, who died in August, 2015 at the age of 30 from a rare disease known as hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a severe immunodeficiency that is most often found in infants and young children. The disease is even more rarely found in adults. If one suffers from HLH, the body's defense system, or immune system, does not work normally. The immune system becomes excessively activated to a life-threatening degree. The disease is not well understood.
While HLH is not a cancer, the road to cure is often a stem cell transplant as is the case in treating leukemia, lymphoma, and other forms of cancer. I'm very proud to ride as a member of the Stem Cell Cyclists Team that supports the research of Dr. Corey Cutler of Harvard Medical School. Since 2016 I've raised over $33,000 for the Team thanks to your generous support. This will be my tenth year of participating in this great event. It's been a long, good run (or ride, shall I say). Yet, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to be part of this historic year in which the PMC's 45-year cumlutive total will top ONE BILLION DOLLARS!
From the bottom of my heart I thank all of you who have supported me in past years and I greatly value your support this year. As Jonathan would say, let's "crush it" one more time. Let's bust a billion!
David Greenleaf
Arlington, Massachusetts
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