As most of you are aware, last year I rode in the Pan-Mass Challenge for the fifteenth time. Through the years, I have always enjoyed the ride although it can be strenuous. Whenever I “feel the burn”, I think about all those people who are currently or have in the past fought cancer and I remember that riding a bike really isn’t that difficult. I do have to admit that I have made one concession to my age, I am now only riding one day rather than two.

I’d like to share a few PMC facts with you. The Pan-Mass Challenge raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the United States and is the fourth largest fundraiser of any kind in the U.S. Since the PMC began in 1980 it has now raised over $972 million for adult and pediatric cancer care and research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund. In 2023 the PMC gave an unbelievable gift of $72 million. The event donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the cause. PMC’s 2023 gift made up over 55 percent of the Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue and was Dana Farber’s single largest contributor.

So, why I have decided to ride for a sixteenth time?

Is it because I know that all the money donated through the years has helped the many scientists get closer and closer to finding the cure for cancer? Is it because we all know someone who has been affected by this insidious disease named Cancer? I lost my grandmother to cancer many years ago. I lost a first cousin to cancer. I currently have a cousin living with cancer, as well as several friends. I’ve lost many friends and relatives to this insidious disease. It is for all these reasons and others.

For the sixth year I have joined Team Stella. Stella Hope Freedman is the granddaughter of my dear friends, Lois & Arnie Freedman. Stella was born with a serious blood disorder, Multi system Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis, “LCH”. LCH is a rare cancer that begins in the LCH cells. LCH cells are a type of dendritic cell that fights infection. As Arnie wrote in an email “Stella, now 8 years old, has been “cancer free” for over six years now. It has been a difficult journey for our children Becky & Scott, as well as for Stella’s big sister, Rosie. It has been a difficult journey for the entire family. As our daughter-in-law Becky has said, “one of the hardest parts for us when Stella was sick was the unknown. It’s so hard to follow a protocol that is one size fits all when that is the only research and treatment available”.” Arnie went on to write, “Not much is known about LCH as a rare disease and there are very few researchers around the country who are digging in with cutting edge research. As you can imagine, we were quite blown away with the news that Stella was a “one in a million” baby who had developed this disease. We sought guidance from the Dana Farber Institute and found Dr. Barbara Degar & Dr. Barrett Rollins, two of the very few specialists in the country who are working on LCH.”

(Stella Hope Freedman)

Now I know and you know why I am riding in the Pan-Mass – it is for all the reasons above. Through the years I’ve been both a personal supporter as well as having Perkins be a corporate sponsor of the event. I am grateful that Gordon Food Service has taken over this sponsorship that Perkins began. Once again, I feel that I need to “ride the ride”.

Won’t you please join me in this worthy cause with the hopes that someday this fight will be won, and the ride will no longer be necessary.

If you would like to contribute, you can send a check to me (8 Bowsprit Point, Mashpee, MA 02649) made out to the Pan Mass Challenge or you can go online to http://www2.pmc.org/profile/GP0060.

Thank you in advance for your support,

Gary