Most of you know that I've been raising money and awareness for lung cancer research since my mom died from lung cancer in 2007.

And many of you know that the spark of determination I had was fueled - and inspired - by a woman I met just a few months after my mom died.

Diane Legg was an incredible woman who I met in 2008, when she'd only been diagnosed with lung cancer for a few years, but was already changing the world.

She started Shine a Light on Lung Cancer, where she helped turn Boston's biggest skyscraper blue for lung cancer awarness.

I followed her to Washington DC where we lobbied congresspeople for more federal funding for lung cancer.

When I started a lung cancer marathon team, she ran several half marathons, all while living with Stage IV lung cancer.

She founded LungStrong, which has raised millions of dollars for lung cancer since 2011 through the Pan-Mass Challenge.

And of course, I followed her there. This is my 5th year riding the Pan-Mass Challenge.

Diane was only 41 when she was diagnosed (an incidental finding after pulling her back picking her youngest out from his crib).

She never smoked, and it was a total shock. After the diagnosis, she didn't think she'd see her kids graduate elementary school. In the 20 years since her diagnosis, she watched two graduate college, and the third, that baby, is graduating this year.

Last December, we lost Diane. It has rocked my world, and the world of everyone who ever knew her. She fought as hard as any human could fight, but at the end of the day, the research had reached the end of the road. There were no other options.

The silver lining, of course, is that there WERE other options along the road. Options that she, my friend Linnea, and my friend Diedre were all able to take advantage of to extend their lives. Options that my mom, who died three months after her diagnosis, did not have.

Now more than ever, we need more options for lung cancer (and franky all cancer). With federal funds for cancer research being slashed, this money will make an even bigger difference than before.

The money raised by my fundraiser goes DIRECTLY to fund lung cancer research at Dana Farber. It doesn't sit in a general fund or partially cover the cost of the event. It goes as they say, right to the bench, where the scientists can do their work finding better treatments, and a cure.

I'll be riding close to 200 miles from Wellesley to Provincetown on August 2nd and 3rd.

I would be so grateful if you could support my ride! In memory of my mom, as always, but this year, to honor the spirit of the incredible, fierce, beyond inspirational Diane Legg.