The text:  "Please give me a call when you can...My results are in."

And thus begins my best friend's cancer journey...  It begins like so many other cancer journeys, like mine did just about 9 years ago.  The lump in my throat is bigger than the one I had when I got my diagnosis.  When cancer hits a loved one, it hits you, too, like a ton of bricks.   She walked beside me a few years ago;  now I will walk beside her...every step of the way.  I will be riding this year's Pan-Mass Challenge in support of my dearest friend, Amy Vasington, who began her journey with breast cancer just yesterday morning...

On Saturday and Sunday, August 2nd and 3rd, I will ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge for the 11th time.  When I registered for my very first PMC in 2013, I viewed this ride as a bucket list item...One and done, or so I thought...And what better year and reason to ride than 2013, to honor the fifth anniversary of the passing of my very dear friend, Missy, from cervical cancer. Well, one ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge and I knew that this is something that I have to keep doing! Why do I keep coming back year after year? Put simply, it is to support the ground-breaking research and amazing treatment that takes place at Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

With each passing year, the list of people in my life whose lives have been touched, and forever altered, by the horrible disease that is cancer grows. They are my reasons for riding. In 2016 (almost 9 years ago!) I added my name to that list, when I was diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer and began treatment at Dana Farber. The PMC refers to us as Living Proof. Cancer survivors are Living Proof of the powerful, life-saving impact of DFCI's research and treatment... and that is why I ride! The funds raised by the Pan Mass Challenge go directly to Dana Farber, to further the ground breaking research and cutting edge treatment that is happening there every single day.

And with all that is going on in our country this year, including senseless and deep cuts to funding for life-saving medical research, raising funds for Dana Farber is more important to me than ever!

Once again this year, I will be riding as a member of Team Duncan, formerly Team WOW (Women's Oncology on Wheels), which is comprised of doctors, nurses, and patients from the 9th floor (Women's Oncology), and their friends and family members. I will be riding Saturday and Sunday, August 2nd and 3rd. Like last year, the PMC will follow it's traditional format, and I will be riding the 2 day, 190ish mile route, from Sturbridge to Provincetown.

The fundraising minimum for all 2-day riders is $6000. With gratitude for all that Dana Farber has done and continues to do for me, and so very many others, I am setting a personal goal of $13,000 for my fundraising this year. As I have over the past several years, I am designating the funds that I raise to be directed to the research of my very caring and skilled oncologist, and friend, Dr Michael Hassett.

Each and every individual who is involved in the Pan-Mass Challenge has been touched personally and very deeply by cancer, either as a patient or as the friend or family member of one or more people who have battled this disease, or both. As I have written in previous years, I ride because I can, in honor of those who cannot, in the hope that one day cancer will not prevent ANYONE from doing anything that they want to do. In addition to riding as Living Proof, and riding in honor of Amy, I will continue to cherish the memory of dear friends and family members who have passed away from cancer, and hold close to my heart those friends and family members who have survived their battles with cancer.

I am very proud to ride in the Pan-Mass Challenge because I am glad to have the opportunity to receive my care at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and also because, unlike many other similar events, 100% of rider raised revenue goes directly to support the Jimmy Fund and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in their tireless commitment to finding cures for all types of cancer.