As I get ready to ride in my 8th Pan-Mass Challenge this August, 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 $91,000 for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber since 2018!

When I first joined Team FLAMES, I had just entered remission from lymphoma and asked my oncologist, Dr. Ann LaCasce—also a fellow FLAME—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 have never looked back.

Each summer since, I’ve pinned 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 them and for them. If there’s someone you’d like me to add to this year’s jersey, I would be honored to carry their name and story with me.

This year, I ride with a new kind of milestone in mind. In February, I got the all-clear—ten years after diagnosis, I officially graduated” from annual lymphoma checkups. As Dr. LaCasce put it, my bloodwork has been “disgustingly normal” every year since remission. That’s a phrase I’ll happily take.

And while I may no longer need a wristband or be asked if I have a port, Dana-Farber will never be in my rearview mirror. This place, these people, and this mission will always be front and center in my life. That’s why I keep riding.

This year, I ride not only to fund the next generation of treatments and cures, but to offer hope to those still in the fight—and to honor the memory of those we’ve lost.

And this year, our collective efforts are more urgent than ever. As PMC founder Billy Starr recently shared, proposed federal budget cuts threaten to gut the NIH’s support for research institutions like Dana-Farber, potentially slashing as much as $50 million in 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.”

With that in mind, I’m setting my personal fundraising goal at $12,000. 100% of your donation—no matter the size—goes directly to Dana-Farber and makes a lasting impact. Every dollar helps protect the progress we’ve made and powers the next breakthrough.

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

With gratitude,

Michael

Ways to Donate:
There are multiple ways to contribute—whatever’s easiest for you:

• Online: right here on this page (https://profile.pmc.org/ML0326)

• Venmo: [@Michael-Lawrence-64]

• Check: Make payable to “PMC” and mail to:
  Michael Lawrence
  30 Inverness Road
  Arlington, MA 02476

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.