I write this on January 30, 2025. Today it has been exactly 11 years since we lost my sister Dana to a rare form of cancer, and today I have just registered for my 16th Pan-Mass Challenge ride. Dana Brennan Parker fought with dignity, bravery and unwavering faith in God against the liposarcoma she was diagnosed with in June 2010. She voluntarily underwent extra tests and uncomfortable treatments knowing that the knowledge that her doctors gained would most likely benefit a future patient down the road, not her . . . but just might help save other children down the road - if not hers - from losing their mother, parents down the road - if not our mother and father - from saying goodbye to their daughter, and a world in the future from losing the kind of love, kindness, compassion, faith and light that shined through Dana during her brief 40 years on this earth. So that is why I ride. I ride because I promised my sister Dana that I would follow her example and continue to ride, for as long as I am able, for the patients and families . . . down the road.
On August 2nd I will again join 10,000 other PMCers (6,000 riders and 4,000 volunteers) with the goal of starting the Pan-Mass Challenge's on the way to its NEXT Billion dollars over its 45-year history! I am so proud to be riding from Wellesley to Bourne on Saturday alongside my 4x PMC-riding daughter Rowan and nephew Zach as part of the Sarcoma Cycling Brigade! We will be greeted at the finish line by my wife, son, parents, sisters, nephews, niece, and family friends - all of whom will be volunteering at the Mass Maritime Academy to feed hungry riders! For the sixth year, this team of riders, virtual riders and PMC weekend volunteers will be focused on raising sarcoma awareness and dedicated funds for sarcoma research and treatment.
The success of the Pan-Mass Challenge is only possible through the generous donors who fuel this effort. The clinical trials that Dana was treated with during the last two years of her life, and the partnerships between Dana-Farber and other leading research hospitals, are made possible because of the unprecedented fundraising power of the Pan-Mass Challenge. This year the Pan-Mass Challenge is committed to raise over $80 Million and 100% - every single penny - of that amount will go directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to support their research and treatment of cancer patients and their families.
Please join me and my family in this effort to the extent you are able. I know that one day the dedicated researchers and doctors funded by our collective efforts and generosity will find the cures to all forms of cancer. One day down the road, a brother will not needlessly lose a sister to this disease . . . parents will not lose a daughter . . . and children will not lose a mother. When that day comes, Dana will be smiling down on all of us who made that happen.
Thank you!
-Rob
