Like so many things in our lives right now, things are uncertain. Many activities and events that we participate in are on hold, postponed, or canceled for the time being. Our annual Pan Mass Challenge is no different so instead of joining moret than 6000 cyclists and 4000 volunteers the first weekend in August, Dave and I are re-imaginging our PMC. This was to be Dave's 12th PMC and my 9th.
Riding in large groups is not going to be an option for me this year. So what will I do?
I have been inspired by a story about another Stage IV lung cancer fighter, Isabella de la Houssaye, who just completed a cross country cycling trip from San Diego, CA to St Augustine, FL and then on to DC, to raise awareness about lung cancer. You can read her story here: https://ridewithgps.com/journal/4698-user-spotlight-isabella-de-la-houssaye?otu= and on her website www.bikebreathebelieve.org. So for my re-imagined' PMC, I will do my own “virtual” cross country ride using my Peloton and road bike…3,000 miles by year end.
Our mission at LUNGSTRONG is to raise funds for innovative research so that lung cancer is a treatable disease and no longer fatal. 100% of the money that Team LUNGSTRONG raises goes towards much needed Lung Cancer Research under the direction of Dr. Pasi Janne, Director of the Lowe Center of Thoracic Research at DFCI. Dana Farber has been leading the way in lung cancer research and we know that the money that Team LUNGSTRONG raises is helping them find a cure. In the last 10 years, Team LUNGSTRONG has raised close to $3.5 Million!! Dr. Janne has used the money we raised to support a number of his junior investigators to fund development projects and “out of the box” research. To date, we’ve helped fund Dr. Oxnard’s work in circulating cancer cells, Dr. Ozers work in small cell lung cancer, and this year Dr. Cheng’s work on genetic changes in blood from immunotherapy. In addition, the money we raise is funding some of the research data specialists at DFCI that are working on the correlative science - looking at markers in tissue and blood samples. The bottom line is, the work that we are funding is truly making a difference in the fight against lung cancer. Our goal this year for our team of over 100 riders, is to raise $500,000, Dave and I hope to raise $20,000 together.
Due to the current economic situation, the PMC has waived all fundraising minimums but this does not mean that the need for cancer research is less important. In fact funding cancer research is even more critical and funding lung cancer remains crucial to changing the face of this disease. We recognize that these are hard and uncertain times, if you are interested and able to support our ride, we would greatly appreciate it! No donation is too small and if you are unable to donate - no worries, we appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers you send our way!
Every day I feel incredibly blessed that I am still here and that I’m living well with Stage IV lung cancer, but this is not the norm. It’s been 2 1/2 years that I have been on my current clinical trial. Currently, the standard of care, for my type of lung cancer, works on average for 19 months before becoming resistant. The clinical trial that I am on is specifically to see if this combination of drugs will give patients a longer time period before becoming resistant. This week my scans showed that my cancer continues to be stable, so this clinical trial is doing what we hoped it would. I want others to have this same opportunity.
Today only 18% of the people diagnosed with lung cancer live more than 5 years. It’s our dream that one day lung cancer will be treated as a chronic disease not a terminal one! We want to be a part of changing the stigma and to reverse the statistics!
Dana Farber is a leader in innovative lung cancer research and is working diligently to find a cure. There has been more progress in lung cancer research in the past 5 years than there has been in the last 30 years! We are blessed to live so close to Boston and to have this kind of care accessible to us. We are very excited to be part of a team that will continue to support this critical work, giving us the hope that we need.
Many thanks for your continued love and support of our family,
Diane
My Links
LUNGstrong
Team LungStrong-PMC
