July, 2025

Hi Family and Friends,      Donate online: http://profile.pmc.org/HG0011

Here we go again!

This marks the 25th year I’ve sent this letter—and what a milestone it is. In 2001, right after I finished my first cancer chemo, two of my Dana-Farber chemo nurses and I decided to start a small PMC team. We called ourselves Team FLAMES: Fast Legs And Minds Ending Suffering. That first year, twelve of us rode. We raised $20,000. It felt huge.

Today, that “little” team is 131 riders strong. Together, we’ve raised over $12.7 million to fund lifesaving cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

But those numbers only tell part of the story.

Over the past 25 years, we’ve witnessed extraordinary progress. We’ve supported 14 incredible Pedal Partners—children and their families bravely facing cancer. All but one have survived. Some are now adults, thriving in ways that once seemed impossible. One pedal partner, Zachary, relapsed twice before age 10. CAR T-cell therapy—then a groundbreaking treatment—saved his life. Last year, at 15, he rode 25 miles of the PMC beside his dad.

We live for those stories. And we ride for the ones still unfolding.

Thanks to the progress of science and discovery, for many people, a cancer diagnosis is becoming a chronic illness—something treatable, survivable. But we’re not there yet. Every year, we still lose people we love. A diagnosis still drops like a bomb in too many lives. And that’s why we ride. That’s why I write.

Your support—whether you’ve been giving for 25 years or just joined our team of givers and riders—has made all the difference. Together, we’ve helped fuel discoveries that now save lives around the world. We've helped fund new drugs, innovative approaches, and brilliant young scientists through our Team FLAMES-funded FLAIR Fellowship program. These are the people developing the treatments of tomorrow, especially for cancers that don’t respond to today’s tools.

This year, that support is more vital than ever. Federal research funding is being cut. Bright, young scientists—those with the boldest and most promising ideas—face funding gaps that could stall or halt lifesaving research. Our donations help close those gaps. We give them time. We provide them with a chance through a year of funding to prove out their theory.

I recently heard a Dana-Farber patient share that she’s alive today because she was diagnosed seven years ago with Multiple Myeloma instead of eleven. The science for many cancers is changing rapidly, and even a year after a diagnosis is making all the difference. That’s how fast science is moving. And how fragile progress can be.

So here we are—25 years later. Still pedaling. Still pushing. Still hoping.

If you’re able, I’d be honored to have your support again this year. Or for this to be the first year you support me, our team, and new research at Dana-Farber.  Every gift helps. Truly.

100% of your donation goes directly to Dana-Farber and the researchers whose work is changing lives.

Donate online: http://profile.pmc.org/HG0011 (there are links for credit card, DAF or Venmo – and check too if you have a corporate match program)
Checks: Cindy Hale, 45 Myrtle Terrace, Winchester, MA 01890
 

I’m so proud of what we’ve built together. And I’m even more hopeful for what’s ahead. Thank you for being part of this journey—for 25 years of generosity, love, and belief in a better future.

With endless gratitude,
 xo Cindy
Team FLAMES Founder
Pan-Mass Challenge Rider, 25 years strong

June 2024.   Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you all so much for giving me the gift of riding. Without your generosity of donations, there would be no PMC. Our team is on pace to meet our goal, and I met my goal today. With all my heart, my warmest thanks.

When I meet my goal, when our team meets its goal, and when the PMC meets its goal, we all win. We win today and tomorrow with the research and treatments our funds fund. It’s an amazing circle of support.

This year’s PMC was by far my hardest. The heat (101 in some areas) was only one-half the problem, as we have ridden in warmer weather without pain. This year, the blend of heat and humidity intensity blend got us. Sunday was much cooler, but our muscles were still screaming for more fluids (we couldn’t get enough in on Saturday). But of course, we finished.

And as we all know about hard goals, once they’re over, they’re over for that year, and somehow, you forget the pain and remember the gifts and gains.

Each year, on Saturday after the ride, there is a ‘Living Proof’ photo. This is a photo of cancer survivors who are riding in the PMC. My first year riding the PMC, (24 years ago), there were maybe 6 of us in the photo. We felt like such an anomaly. An oddity, living from cancer and riding the PMC. This year, there were many HUNDRED people in the Living Proof photo. Being ‘Living Proof 'has been normalized as part of life.

The number of people who live after a cancer diagnosis has changed to most often now being a ‘chronic’ disease. When you see the shift over the years in actual humans showing up, it is a stunning shift. Yet, each year, I ride along folks who have just lost a loved one. We had a new FLAME this year, a young man in his 20s who had lost his mom just months earlier.

We wrapped him up with FLAMES love.

Along the route were the humbling reminders of people sitting in lawn chairs holding signs for loved ones lost (my son, my grandson, my mother…. and children holding signs proudly, “I am 10 thanks to you). It can’t help but grab you and is a stark reminder of why we all participate in giving and riding as we do.

I could go on and on with stories. We have dear friends this year battling cancer who weren’t last year. I had someone share their recent diagnosis with me while riding. They needed a friend to share their news with. I came home to a friend reaching out for support due to new news of cancer. It just doesn’t quit.

Your funds this year are hard at work. We are funding two Fellows and their research for one year. These Fellows ‘won’ this opportunity from a pool of deserving researchers and scientists. We support one year of their salaries and research to bring their program to life. We also fund in-depth research to bring drugs to market. YOU ARE HELPING MAKE THIS HAPPEN.

Thank you for hanging in with me and the FLAMES each year. Thank you for continuing with your support. This was the first year the PMC had me feeling my age. But guess what? I feel like the luckiest person in the world that I can complain about the heat and a sore bum. I can complain about sleeping under a table on a Saturday night in a 24-hour lit library, complain about porta potties, and laugh at my fellow new FLAME who dropped her phone into a porta potty. Yes, she retrieved her phone herself. I feel lucky to ride with Charlie Hale, our oldest son, on his first PMC ride.

The PMC makes a difference; we are choosing to make a difference.

WE ARE LUCKY to all be able to make a difference.

Thank you for being part of TEAM FLAMES and for your unwavering support.

xo cindy

PS: For those still wanting to donate: 100% pass-thru to Dana Farber. Click here: http://profile.pmc.org/HG0011

~

August 1, 2024

This is it, the last week before the PMC! May I add a ribbon for your loved one or friend to my jersey as I ride across MA this weekend? Simply let me know the name you want!

The weather looks HOT, and some RAIN. It doesn't matter what the weather is. We ride no matter what we get. We laugh, cry, and hear so many inspiring stories along the journey.

If you haven't donated yet, there is still time. I hope you will consider donating to my ride, the PMC and by extension supporting the amazing scientists and researchers our team helps fund.

Yes, your donations make a very tangible difference. Every single dollar, any amount, means a lot.

As we get older and work harder to train, we continue to work harder to raise. Thank you for all you do to help us help us all. We don’t know where the next call will come from. But we know we can help people we all know and love return to their own lives free of needles and drugs.

As we write this, we are thinking of our friends this year actively fighting cancer. We think of the ones we have lost, and we ask for your support to bring us all one step, one person, one trial, and one researcher closer to closing the cancer gap.

This is why we are a village. Of HOPE and IMPACT.

We will soon bike to Zoey’s home in Southern New Hampshire (a surprise visit for her), and our team FLAMES will decorate her driveway, dress in costumes, and bring joy to their home. This is one of the fun parts of being part of our team, FLAMES.

Cancer doesn’t discriminate. We hope you will join us and donate. We need your help. Thank you Cindy

Please donate by clicking here: http://profile.pmc.org/HG0011

Check made out to “PMC” or “Pan Mass” and send to: Cindy Hale, 45 Myrtle Terrace, Winchester MA 01890.

• Donations via Venmo: @Cindy-Hale
• See Matching Grants for your Pan Mass Donation. Click [Here]
• See about Fidelity Charity DAF Donation. Click [Here]