In August, I will be riding in my seventh Pan-Mass Challenge. I will again ride with Team Duncan, named for my friend Duncan Finigan, who we lost a few years ago to breast cancer, but whose attitude and inspiration lives on in many ways.

Duncan’s story has been chronicled many times. You can see and hear her tell it in her own words here in a presentation she made to the Susan F. Smith Center for Women's Cancers Executive Council Breakfast in 2015. Last summer, Duncan’s legacy was honored in Dana Farber’s New England Cow Parade by naming a cow now located in Quincy Market “Finigan.” The cow is sponsored by Oofos, the athletic footwear company; Duncan, who had a long career in New England’s shoe industry, was Oofos’ first employee. They have now become a major PMC sponsor. I was proud to be Duncan’s friend and am honored to be a member of the team that was re-named in her honor and memory.

Cancer came home to me in 2024 when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and from which I have thankfully now nearly recovered. That experience, coupled with the fact that so many family and friends have had their lives impacted by cancer, is an important reminder that cancer can and does strike indiscriminately at any time.

Several years ago, as Duncan was waging her battle, she told my wife Patti that despite her illness, she was not dying; she was living. Indeed she did live – in a way that continues to touch me and others in many ways. It is in that spirit that I ride and encourage you to donate to this important cause. Last year, with the help of friends like you, Team Duncan raised over $1M. If you do choose to donate, here is a link. My PMC number is JM0957.