Thank you for taking the time to visit my page. This is my 14th year riding in the PMC. The first year that I participated it was my way of helping to make a difference. With each mile we ride and each dollar that we raise, we are one step closer to finding a cure for this awful disease that has unfortunately impacted most of us through a family member, friend, or colleague. Unfortunately our family has been impacted a number of times by some form of this disease.

In 2016, the ride became even more important than ever to me. In April, my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She told us on Sunday April 17th. Her doctors said that there was nothing that they could do for her and gave her two weeks. As a family, we were not happy with this response and wanted a second opinion about treatment given the urgency. That afternoon I emailed one of the head doctors at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and explained the situation. Twenty minutes later he responded and said that he would get her in that week and he did. Dana Farber gave us the ultimate gift, the gift of time. They were able to provide us with six more months of time with my mother. My mother was (and in many ways still is) the backbone of our family approached this disease as she has with any obstacle in life. Head on and with a positive attitude. Unfortunately she succumbed to the disease but we are forever grateful for the extra time that we had to spend with her.

Those who have been treated at Dana Farber call it a family. They are not only a state of the art facility for cancer research, they are a group of doctors and nurses who also treat the patient in addition to the disease. For the moment we first entered the facility, we knew there was something different. The positive energy and passion exuded from everyone who works there is contagious.

My motto for the PanMass has always be that I ride because I can. In 2016, it has changed to I ride for YOU, now it is I ride for ALL. I look forward to the day when we speak of cancer in the past tense.

Thank you for your support.