I'm a proud participant in the Pan-Mass Challenge - a bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country - to bring us Closer by the Mile to a cure for cancer.

I never got to meet my grandmother, who suffered and died from cancer when my father was in college, and it hurts me everytime think of her suffering for years without treatment. I know it's just not my family who has been impacted by this disease, but thankfully to science, treatments have come a long way since her time and most patients today can receive some treatment.

As a person blessed with a fully functioning body and mind, I feel obligated to do something for these people who suffer every day. That is why I will start by cycling 200 miles across the state of Massachusetts with my dad to raise money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in August.

Since its founding in 1980, PMC riders like me have raised more than $1 billion for lifesaving cancer research, treatment and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, one of the country's top cancer care hospitals. My PMC is making a difference in the lives of patients at Dana-Farber and around the world. The funds I raise support the innovative work of doctors, nurses, and scientists in their search for cures for cancers and related diseases.

100 percent of every dollar I raise goes directly to Dana-Farber, meaning that your donation has a real impact! Please donate to my PMC fundraising and help me reach my fundraising goal.