Year 12! This is the last year to leave from Sturbridge. Next year the route is changing a bit so the journey will not be the same but my mission will always be to start on Saturday making my way home to honor the survivors. Then on to day two I ride in memory of those we have lost. Some people ask why I do it. I can only answer that I would do anything to ensure I had another day with the people I love and my hope is that my actions are helping others to have that one more day too. Please help me to continue reaching my fundraising goals.

Watching my grandmother, mother, friends, and son battle has given me a front-row seat on how cancer does not discriminate. I will never forget the shock of them being diagnosed with cancer. No person can escape its fury and when the diagnosis is confirmed, life will never be the same. The disease sits back on the wings of time. It hits when you least expect it and leaves a whirlwind of emotions to be sorted through. Dreams that should be allowed to flow through a lifetime are quickly looked at and a rush order would be put on them except the sickness will take over too quickly and the future becomes unknown. Cancer will not be put on hold until a better age or day comes along. It shows no favoritism and has no allies. Its brutality has no conscience and will not spare even the most pleading eyes or virtuous spirit.

The feeling of having power over your life can be stripped away in one sentence. Cancer creates an entirely new way of dealing with each second of the day. Cancer affects not only the person who is diagnosed but also an entire unit of loved ones that wait with bated breath and pray for fate to be kind. Upon my son’s diagnosis, cancer gave me focus and I was inspired to not let the disease control each day of our lives. There is nothing positive about a diagnosis but it can harvest bountiful acts of kindness and compassion that exceed beyond belief and expectations.

My first ride was a direct response from the year I watched my son battle. The Pan Mass Challenge journey of 192 miles is an emotional ride.

Please contribute to the cause. Your generosity will help in our efforts to give scientists superhuman powers to wipe out cancer. The PMC empowers doctors, nurses, clinicians, scientists, and support staff to focus on their job and not put a price on life. Breakthrough research can stem from specialty teams trying new methods of treatment. Superheroes don’t always put on capes and are sometimes masked by white overcoats. Please share with a friend my mission so they can help too.