I'm getting ready to ride in my 8th Pan-Mass Challenge in a few weeks, and I’m filled with gratitude! For my health, for the strength to keep riding, and for your support that has helped me raise more than $100K for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber over the last 8 years.

When I first joined the FLAMES, I had just entered remission from lymphoma and asked my doctor, Ann LaCasce (who is also my teammate!) how I could give back. She pointed me to team captain JD Hale. I sent him an email, clipped in for my first PMC ride, and as many of you know, I’ve never looked back!

Every summer, I pin a colorful list of names to my jersey: friends, family members, and friends-of-friends who are in treatment, in remission, or who we’ve lost. It’s my way of riding with (and FOR) them. If there’s someone you’d like me to include this year, I would be honored to carry their name and story with me! Just send me an email.

And this year, I'm riding with a new milestone. In February, I got the all-clear, 10 years after being diagnosed, that I officially “graduated” from annual lymphoma checkups. As Dr. LaCasce put it, my bloodwork has been “disgustingly normal” every year since we beat this awful disease. I love being called disgustingly normal. Even though I don't need a wristband or am asked if I have a port anymore, Dana-Farber is never going to be in my rearview mirror. This place, the people, and its mission are always going to be front and center in my life. So that’s why I keep riding.

And not only that, but this year, our collective efforts are more urgent than ever. As we recently learned, federal budget cuts are gutting the NIH’s support for places like Dana-Farber, slashing hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding.

“We ride to raise money. But as importantly, we ride to protect progress. We ride to defend hope. And we ride to ensure that nothing—and no one—stands in the way of funding the cures for cancer.”

Earlier in the spring, I visited Dana-Farber for a special evening with the doctors on my team, and they reminded us just how essential your donations are. Philanthropy lets them move faster and cuts through the red tape of grants and regulatory delays. It allows them to turn ideas into clinical trials, and ultimately into treatments for the patients who need them most. And will need them in the future! 

Every breakthrough is going to help somebody down the road. Disoveries in blood cancer (which is where our team's funding go!) ripple outward and advance research across all cancers. Your donation fuels that ripple effect so that science wins. And when that happens, patients win, and families, friends, and loved ones also win. This is why it's so important. And with this in mind, my 2025 fundraising goal is $12,000. Please help me get there! 100% of your donation, whether it’s $5 or $500, goes directly to Dana-Farber and will be making a real impact.

Thank you for your love, generosity, and continued belief in this mission. You are very much part of my team.

With gratitude,
Michael

PS: If your employer has a Matching Gift Program, please reach out to your HR department—it’s a great way to multiply the impact of your donation.