Over the first weekend in August, I'll be riding in my ninth Pan-Mass Challenge, biking 200 miles from Sturbridge to Provincetown, raising money to fund life-improving and life-saving cancer research, treatment and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston. In light of the uncertainty of future federal funding for cancer research in this country, the PMC's mission is more critical than ever.
The PMC donates 100% of every rider-raised dollar directly to Dana-Farber. If there is any hope of eradicating cancer, it is in the works right there at DFCI, every day. As a granddaughter, daughter, sister, nurse and friend to too many people who have been affected by cancer, and a two-time cancer survivor myself, the widespread reach of this disease is why I keep riding, and why I keep asking for your donations year after year.
Please consider supporting this remarkable cause in ANY amount: five dollars, ten, a hundred or more ~ every donation brings us closer by the mile to a world without cancer. If you are donating in honor or memory of someone, please let me know as I will carry their names with me over the weekend.
With gratitude,
Kendra
A look back at previous rides:
2024:
Rode this year especially in memory of Andy Noel and Hallie Kyed: on the ninth anniversary of Andy's passing, Hallie at just two years old lost her very brave battle with leukemia. I was also honored to ride with a very dear college friend who lost her wife to melanoma in 2023. Year after year, cancer continues to hit close to home.
2023:
One of my favorite rides to date, accompanied by the most supportive team-within-a-team (you know who you are!) bringing newfound meaning to the importance of this weekend. Carried in spirit along many miles by an angel or two, I am sure ~ you also know who you are!
2022:
I'll be serving on the Medical Team Road Crew in what will by my SIXTH year of commitment to the Pan-Mass Challenge, volunteering my time from Friday thru Sunday in support of the medical needs of all riders. By the grace of God, I remain able to support this event as a two-time cancer survivor and virtual rider. I am still a proud part of Team Lick Cancer, and as always, I'm raising money for cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston.
2021:
I ride in honor of those who are in the fight now, whether in treatment or remission.
I ride especially for those who can’t: in memory of loved ones, friends, and loved ones & friends of friends, all gone much too soon.
I ride because I can ~ I am living proof.
2020 PMC Reimagined:
It's been somewhat of a slow road this summer, but I'm 110 miles in and still riding, committed to completing a total of 192 miles: the distance I had planned to ride over PMC weekend, from Sturbridge to Provincetown, before we were forced to reimagine our rides to meet pandemic restrictions... finally completed those 192 miles in December 2020... better late than never!
2019:
This year, I'll be riding in my third PMC as a member of Team Lick Cancer, thanks to a friend I made on the bus ride home from Bourne last year. I'm so excited to join Andrew Keane and this dedicated group of riders! With melanoma still in my rearview mirror, I'll now be riding for the first time as a breast cancer survivor... thanks to God, who works in mysterious ways. I was honored and humbled to be part of the Living Proof Parade at PMC night at Fenway this year... https://boston.cbslocal.com/video/4100766-pmc-riders-who-have-beaten-cancer-saluted-at-fenway-park/
2017-2018 ***My rearview mirror:
For several years, I have supported the Pan-Mass Challenge via monetary contributions to various riders, following a diagnosis with melanoma when I was six months pregnant with my first daughter. Shortly after she was born in a Boston Hospital, in a nightmarish experience all of its own, I had surgeries to remove the cancer and several lymph nodes. Fast-forward four more months and, much to my surprise, I was pregnant again. It was then that I first met Dr. Gene Aron of Newton-Wellesley OB-Gyn. He and his practice and Newton-Wellesley Hospital were a much welcomed change in this maternity experience, bringing my second daughter into the world healthy, safe & sound. Fast forward 15 years, and I was now working as a Registered Nurse in the Mother/Baby unit of NWH, where I was reminded of Dr. Aron every day. When his colleague and friend announced a PMC team riding in his honor in 2017, joining the team made it all come full-circle. The experience of that ride, my first PMC, left an indelible impression on me ~ one that I have tried to put into words I simply cannot find. It inspired me to ride again in 2018, though sadly riding in Dr. Aron's memory. Gone but never forgotten.
