On August 2nd and 3rd, I will be riding my bike from Sturbridge to Provincetown for my 12th Pan-Mass Challenge. The PMC is a bike-a-thon that raises money for adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. For me, the ride is more than an opportunity to spend a weekend partaking in a sport that I love and bonding with teammates with whom I have trained throughout the year. The weekend is also a time to reflect on the memory of people I’ve lost, applaud the efforts of doctors and researchers, and provide hope to patients and families fighting cancer every day.

I rode my first PMC in memory of my grandmother, Mimi, who passed away in 1988 from glioblastoma multiforme, which is an aggressive form of brain cancer. The entire PMC experience was one of the most meaningful adventures of my life, and I knew that my participation would continue for years to come. The following summer, as I prepared for my second ride, the significance of the Pan-Mass was unexpectedly raised. I not only rode in my grandmother’s memory, but I rode in honor of my father George, who had just been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, and was enduring a summer of chemotherapy treatments. Shortly after, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Fortunately, my dad is now cancer free. Two years ago, cancer hit home again and my loving mother-in-law, Sue, passed away from complications from ovarian cancer. Then, on April 4th of last year, our dear family friend, Scott, passed away after battling just a few weeks from pancreatic cancer. The frustrating truth is that cancer is not going away on its own and I want to do my part to raise money for cancer research. By riding each year, I am personally helping Dana Farber make enormous strides in finding cures.

This is my eighth-year riding as a member of Team Kermit. I am fortunate to participate with this amazing group of riders and I feel honored to have been able to contribute to the over 6.8 million dollars that this one team has raised since 2005.

Team Kermit reconnects me with my high school mentor, Steven Branfman. Steven started Team Kermit in 2005 with his family while his son Jared was undergoing treatment at the Jimmy Fund. “Mr. Branfman” inspired me over 25 years ago as my advisor at Thayer Academy. He has inspired me even more now with his dedication to end cancer. Steven and his family took something as horrible as losing Jared and turned their energy into doing everything in their power to make sure other families do not have to go through what they did. The name of the team comes from one of Jared’s favorite childhood characters. As Steven says, Kermit “represents the ability that people have to rise above the ordinary in order to achieve great results.” Jared passed away after a 2 ½ year battle with cancer at the age of 23 in September 2005. We ride for Jared and everyone else who has been touched by cancer. We also ride for our team’s pedal partners Addie Gould and Matilda Keinath, who are both seven years old and are an inspiration to us all.

As a member of Team Kermit, all of my donations will be allocated to the Jared Branfman Sunflowers For Life Fund For Pediatric Brain And Spinal Cancer Research at the Jimmy Fund. To learn more about this remarkable team, please visit the following links:

http://profile.pmc.org/TT0079

http://www.wcvb.com/article/pmc-on-cvb-team-kermit/780119