Dear Friends,

On August 4 & 5 I will be riding in my eigth Pan Mass Challenge (PMC) with Team LungStrong, and have personally pledged to raise $4,900 for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI).  When I signed up for my first ride 8 years ago to honor my sister Patty, whom we lost to breast cancer in 2009, I figured I would ride once and be done. But now that I am coming up on ride number 8 I am as excited and committed as my first year.

8 years in, I am continually reminded why I and many others do this ride.   Over the past year I have lost two friends to lung cancer. The first is David who was a member of our PMC team. David was unable to join the ride last year as he became very sick in July, he passed away just a few days after the 2017 ride leaving his wife and two young children. I am also riding for my friend and co-worker Linda who passed away in April. Linda was an avid runner who completed 6 marathons and countless other road races. We ran together at lunch for many years. Last October Linda told me she hadn't been feeling well and her running was slowing down. After multiple visits to many doctors she was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in early November. Linda lost her fight in April, just a couple weeks before her son's wedding.

Though we have made a lot of progress in treatment and detection in the past 7 years, lossing David and Linda show that we still have a long way to go to defeat this disease. This is why I continue to ride in the PMC with Team LungStrong.

One hundred percent of the funds raised by the PMC go to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. One hundred percent of the funds that Team LungStrong raises through the PMC will go directly to lung cancer research at Dana Farber's Lowe Center of Thoracic Oncology, under the direction of Dr. Bruce Johnson. DFCI is a leader in innovative lung cancer research and is working diligently to find a cure.

There are many worthy organizations in need of money; I ask for help to raise funds for the DFCI to continue their lung cancer research for Diane and all lung cancer patients, and help me ride with the memory of my sister.

Thank you for your support,

Matt

My Links

Lung Cancer Alliance

http://www.lungstrong.org