This August, my family will participate in the Pan Mass Challenge for the 13th time. We will also mark a decade since my father died of pancreatic cancer on August 17th, 2014. I miss him every day, but especially at this time of year.

In 2012, a year and a half into a Stage 4 diagnosis and a punishing course of treatment for pancreatic cancer, it would have been impressive enough for my dad to just go on a bike ride. But he wasn't one for small gestures, so he set his sights on the PMC and Team Noble Effort was born. This will be the 12th anniversary of the only PMC my dad completed--he was derailed by a crash in 2013 and far too ill by 2014. Training with him through that first spring and summer I learned to love cycling, and I have spent hundreds of days on my bike since, but none of them have come close to the Sunday in August 2012 when he and I crossed the finish line side by side.

A lot has changed since then. Amazingly, improbably, and in some very small part due to our efforts and your support, survival rates are creeping up for victims of pancreatic cancer. Dana Farber's Hale Center, led by Dr. Brian Wolpin, is at the forefront of the work to change the odds, pioneering cutting edge detection and treatment approaches, and generating transformative insights through their research. There is reason for optimism, but a pancreatic cancer diagnosis is still devastating, as our family has learned multiple times. My dad's brother Thomas died of the disease in 2023, and his sister succumbed to it in 2020. Even in a family of 16 kids(!), this seems like more than pure coincidence. Needless to say, this fight has gotten more personal for us than ever before.

Thank you so so much for your ongoing support of our Noble Effort to eventually eradicate this disease!