When I was 23, my mother died from melanoma. She was 49. In the years following, I found myself restless, trying to balance my loss with a sense of purpose. It was while cycling that I found my way. In 1980, to honor my mother’s legacy, and join the fight against cancer, I rallied a group of 35 friends on a 220-mile bike ride across Massachusetts. We raised $10,200 for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. I didn’t know at the time that this would evolve into my life’s work – building the Pan-Mass Challenge. Today, the PMC has raised $900 million for Dana-Farber. It turns out that riding a bike powers the wheels of cancer research funding…and anyone can do it.
