This past December I lost my Dad to a difficult 9 month battle with Pancreatic Cancer. For my family and I, 2023 was dominated by Cancer. However, as challenging as 2023 was, in 2024 we will begin our own journey of doing everything we can to help others either battling, or who will have to battle Cancer. Doing this ride with my brother Josh, and Uncle Yale, raising the ever so important funding for an institute like Dana-Farber feels like a perfect way to start.
My dad was an avid cycler. It was his escape outdoors for decades of his life and after he lost his own mother, Terry Greenfield, to Non Hodgkins Lymphoma 23 years ago, he rode this exact same two-day 186 mile route from Sturbridge to Provincetown in her memory. He completed the Pan Mass Challenge in 2003 and 2004, shortly followed by my brother and I completing the Pan Mass Challenge for kids a handful of years later. Here in 2024, we'll be right back on the Cape riding for the same cause... doing our part to help find a cure.
The reality is that Cancer touches all of us in some way, and I know my experience is sadly not unique. The last year has tought me how to cheerish all that we have in this world. Every day with good health, family, and friends is a blessing that we can't take for granted. I know my dad is looking down with a smile on his face watching his two kids continue on his legacy, proud of the adventure we're embarking on and the cause it supports.
My Dad taught us the power of the PMC from a young age. He rode his first ride when I was just 7 years old and I can still remember the the positivity radiating through the air all throughout the event. Handing over my own first fundraising check to the PMC at 13 years old was so meaningful, and now my second in 2024 is all the more personal. To that, I am so beyond grateful for your support in any way you can. The Pan Mass Challenge raises more money for charity than any other single athletic event in the country and this year will cross a monumental $1 billion in cumulative fundraising for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 100 percent of every dollar goes to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, funding the leading edge of cancer treatment and cures. Together, one day, we will find a cure!
Thank you so much for your support!
