This August I will be riding in my 9th Pan-Mass Challenge. This year I am dedicating my ride to my friend Patrick Nash who lost his fight with pancreatic cancer last November. I met Pat playing basketball during the first week of freshman year at BC and we were great friends ever since.
I will be riding two days - Babson College in Wellesley to Mass Maritime on Saturday and Bourne to Provincetown on Sunday. I will meet up with Tina at the Proveincetown finish line where she will be volunteering in the medical tent. Since 2007 100% of rider-raised revenue has gone directly to cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI).
Tina is a nurse practitioner at DFCI and treats patients with multiple myeloma with Dr. Ken Anderson and Dr. Nikhil Munshi. Tina has been recognized in the Boston Globe's Salute to Nurses for her outstanding work at DFCI (picture in gallery) the past couple of years.
Once again I am a member of the Patriots Platelet Pedalers (PPP), the biggest team in the PMC. The money raised by the PPP is earmarked to support the research of Dr. Anderson's team and development of novel therapies. While the team fundraising is restricted to this research, a recent quote from Dr. Anderson explains that our fund raising helps more than just those diagnosed with multiple myeloma:
Our ongoing progress together is helping patients with myeloma, as well as patients with breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and many other cancers. There two major areas where we are as a PPP TEAM making great strides. First is the area of precision medicine-defining the abnormalities in cancer cells and in their environment which allow tumor cells to grow and survive in order to develop selective targeted new medicines. Since abnormal circuits are common to many cancers, new selective targeted medicines will be more effective, have fewer side effects, and help patients with a broad range of cancers.
* Did you know you can double your impact in seconds? Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match charitable contributions made by their employees.
