The PMC is a very special ride because it unites thousands of people touched by cancer in an effort to raise money to support research and treatment at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. I am proud and ever so grateful to be here to tell you my story.

The call came on Sunday night, I had cancer and was report to the head and neck clinic at Dana Farber the next day at 11am. I was greeted by my would be surgeon and the endocrinologist who performed the biopsy. On March 21, 2005, Dr. Gawande told me that I had anaplastic thyroid cancer, a deadly disease. The doctors did not provide much hope as they had only known of 3 patients in the Boston area with this diagnosis who were over 55 years old who had died. They gave me a 10% chance of survival simply because I was so young. Dr. Gawande said that he was going to save my life. It was a Monday and they had already scheduled surgery on that Friday, Good Friday. A team had to be assembled that included a thoracic surgeon, plastic surgeon, and an ENT surgeon. Easter dinner might be canceled because I would be recovering in the hospital or there was a chance that I would not live through the surgery. The endocrinoligist who did the biopsy asked me if I had told my mother anything and I asked her, 'how do I tell my mother this? She said that I might not live through the surgery and that if I was her daughter she would want to know. I was 29 years old and facing down death. I called my uncle to told him the situation and asked him to tell my mother that I had thyroid cancer with out telling her the details. When she called me, I did not tell my mother how serious the situation was. I told her that I had thyroid cancer just like her friend who was alive and well. I could not tell her the truth. That same night I went back to the hospital with my husband Peter and my best friend Gargi and her little girl. I had a full body scan, and the next morning I didn't get out of bed; I didn't even call in sick to work. Eventually, I got myself up and went for a walk with my dog. It was on that walk that I got a call from the doctor to tell me that the previous night's scan showed the cancer to look more like a lymphoma. Suddenly there was hope. I was actually happy about the possibility of lymphoma. The next day, a Wednesday, I was at the hospital for a pre-op visit and another call came: I had lymphoma, the same diagnosis my grandmother succumbed to 12 years prior. We still had to determine the type of lymphoma so I had surgery on Good Friday to remove a cancerous lymph node and a bone marrow biopsy was performed. Easter dinner was on! That Spring, as I was going through treatment, my friend, Adrienne, ran the Boston Marathon in my honor and I got to cross the finish line with her. I lived! Thanks to the life saving treatment I received at Dana Farber I have a story to tell and a family to love. On September 26 I will celebrate 16 years free of cancer and in August I will ride so that someday my two children might know a world without cancer.

I ride with a very special team, FLAMES (Fast Legs and Minds Ending Suffering). 19 years ago a dear friend and teammate was facing down stage 4 aggressive cancer with her two nurses by her side. The three of them, staring into the black hole of cancer conceived the idea of starting a PMC team. The idea would give rise to Team FLAMES (Fast Legs and Minds Ending Suffering). It started with three women in a hospital room and has grown to more than 95 survivors, doctors, nurses, family members, and friends. Every FLAME has a an incredible story and I blessed and proud to be a member of such a group. It is truly an extraordinary group of people. Since it's inception, Team FLAMES has raised more than 6.1 million research dollars to benefit Dana Farber.

Each year, the FLAMES align with a young pedal partner, a child who is a current patient in the Jimmy Fund Clinic. This year we will ride for Cam and Ady, two little heroes who are beating down leukemia. We ride for Cam and Ady and for the countless loved ones we have lost and for those we are supporting through their cancer journey. We ride for each other and for you. We ride so that if you ever hear the dreaded, you have cancer, it will be followed by, and I have cure.

This year I am attempting to raise $3000. Won’t you support my efforts to raise money for the Dana Farber so others will have a future and a story to share? It is almost impossible to find someone who has not been touched by cancer. I hope that you will consider donating. No amount is too small nor is there an amount that is too large. 100% of every dollar you donate goes directly to cancer research at Dana Farber. Giving is easy: just click on the Donate button to donate or you can donate via venmo.

With Love and Gratitude,

Michele