Riding in the Pan Mass Challenge is a goal I had always wished to achieve. The challenge of the ride was always enticing but the thought of raising funds for Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund made it extra appealing. Last October, after a routine surgery, my world was turned upside down when I was unexpectedly diagnosed with stage 3C metastatic melanoma. As soon as the pathology came back, my care was transferred to Dana Farber Cancer Institute. At one on my first appointments, Dr Yoon looked at me and said do not waste another day worrying, enjoy your days with your kids, family, & friends and leave the worrying to us, and that’s when I knew I was in good hands. A week before my planned treatment started, additional pathology results came back that said I did not have melanoma but a rare newly discovered cancer, that very few people in the world have been diagnosed with. This diagnosis that wouldn’t have been discovered if I was not at Dana Farber with the advanced technology they had to analyze the tumor. This was good news, as all the research that they have shows it is not aggressive as melanoma. After undergoing two surgeries with reconstruction, a long hospital stay, and continued physical therapy I am so proud of how far I have come. I continue under the care of Dr. Hodi and Dr. Yoon at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and I am so pumped I can challenge myself to ride in the PMC to raise funds to support cancer research, a place I couldn’t have imagined four months ago. I am thankful for any contributions that are made to my ride, because I know that it will make a difference for patients like me. I ride for my three kids to show them we can overcome challenges, and I ride so Dana Farber can continue putting patients first with ground breaking treatments.