This year is my fifth time participating in the Pan Mass Challenge (PMC)!
20 years ago, my dad and his friend Scott rode the PMC for the first time, creating the team that soon became The Biker's Dozen. I am so proud to ride alongside our group of now 34 riders, including my Dad, Steven Sisselman, as he marks his 20th year riding.
The money raised by members of The Biker’s Dozen -- which has totaled close to $5 million dollars to date -- is directed toward finding a cure for pediatric brain tumors - specifically DIPG (Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma) and PLGA (Pediatric low grade astrocytoma). Pediatric brain tumors have one of the highest death rates of all childhood cancers. Twenty years ago, a child diagnosed with DIPG was treated with the same protocols that were unsuccessfully used for the past 50 years. I unfortunately saw that firsthand with my friend Ellie, who was only 11 years old when diagnosed with DIPG, and tragically only survived 20 months under this treatment.
Although there is not yet a cure for DIPG, the funds we've raised have helped fund clinical trials with amazing results. This year marks another milestone and truly represents why we ride and fundraise:
With the funds raised by The Biker’s Dozen and other organizations, I can proudly report that a pediatric brain tumor drug was discovered at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute that was recently approved by the FDA for wide-scale distribution. This drug will change the standard of care for a meaningful subset of pediatric brain tumor patients and inevitably save the lives of many children. To be clear, this couldn’t have happened without the PMC and your contributions to The Biker's Dozen — much of the funding for the research that led to its discovery and paid for the first clinical trials to prove efficacy were raised through the PMC from people like you!
There have been many improvements to the treatment for DIPG in recent years, but there is still so much more to be done. So, on August 3rd and 4th, my team will ride 180 miles to raise even more money because we can't take our foot off the pedal (literally!) when it comes to continuing to advance the research and treatment of pediatiatric brain tumors. I am truly optimistic that in my lifetime, there will be a cure for DIPG.
To donate, you can make an e-gift/venmo on this PMC webpage or send a check- please make it payable to PMC Fund and mail it to 215 East 24th Street #821 New York, NY 10010.
Again, thank you for your support.
Jaclyn
