Thanks to all the donors

A grand total of 188 people have made donations to my PMC ride since June 5, 2007. 100% of these donations have gone directly to the Jimmy Fund and cancer research at the Dana Farber. As I recently mentioned in an email to potential donors, I am alive today because of the research done at Dana Farber and other cancer centers around the world. This week, the grand total that has been donated to my ride effort surpassed $30,000 in the past 5 years. I am so grateful and indebted to each and every one of these donors. Thank you!

Treatment #7 (July 19, 2011)

Yesterday was chemo #7. Five more to go. The roller coaster ride of side effects begins again. Oh, the fun.

Thanks to all for the notes, cards, texts, and calls. They raise my spirits everyday and remind me of how much I love life. I look forward to the day when I can thank you in person for sharing this gift with me. Til then, please know that my friends and family, especially you, mean the world to me right now.

All the best,
Andy

PS – If you have not yet donated this year to the Pan Mass Challenge – please do so today! Make your donation @ My PMC Page! Your donation will save lives!

Thank you!

Related articles

• Pan-Mass Challenge: How cyclists raise the most money for charity (csmonitor.com)

One Month Away from PMC 2011

In about a month, on Saturday, August 6th, 5,000 plus cyclists will put on their helmets and start pedaling from Sturbridge and Wellesley, MA towards Bourne on the first day of the 2011 Pan-Mass Challenge. If you are reading this blog, you most likely know about the PMC. You know about the fundraising and the cause, ending cancer in our day. You know that I am committed to this cause. You most likely have been one of the nearly 200 people who have donated to my effort in the past 5 years.

Making it to Provincetown at the end of my first PMC (2007)

When the calendar turned to 2011, I planned on training and fundraising more than I ever had before. This year is the 15th anniversary of, what is now, my first battle with cancer. Right after my birthday in March, the second battle began. This has had monumental effects on my life, obviously.

Tomorrow (July 5th), I will reach the halfway point of my chemotherapy treatments, which has stopped my training for the 2011 PMC before it really started. I will not be riding from Sturbridge to Bourne to Provincetown in early August. I hope to make it to Cape Cod on the weekend of the ride to see my teammates and cheer on the cyclists as they head toward their goal on Sunday.

Team Forza-G with Jack in Brewster (2010)

I recently was interviewed by the PMC for their blog. During the interview, I talked about being more dedicated to the PMC and the cause. I spend a lot of time these days sitting or lying on the couch, having no energy, trying to eat, trying to drink more water, hoping that the side effects (nausea, constipation, random aches and pains, neutropenia) can be kept away by the daily regimen of pills and herbs that I take. During these times, I think a lot about the PMC. About all of the people standing on the side of the road, cheering the riders, holding signs that say “Thank You for Riding” or “I have a dad because you ride” or “I am 14. Thank You!”. I think of the millions of dollars that this event has raised in 32 years and the millions more that it will raise this year and beyond. I marvel at how this event has grown from its humble beginnings to something that thousands dedicate themselves to every year.

And I think about how I might not be winning my 2nd battle with Hodgkins Lymphoma right now without the PMC. How fortunate I am to have the doctors, nurses, and drugs that I have to take care of me and my cancer. What if the PMC did not exist? And the Breast Cancer Walks? And the ACS Relay for Life? And all of the other great fundraising events that are raising millions upon millions of dollars for cancer research, treatments, and care. What if we, all along, had just relied on the government, hospitals, and universities to make the investments that lead to ground-breaking and life-saving discoveries without all of the extra funds? Where would we be? How would my battle be going?

Thankfully, I don’t live in that world. And you don’t live in that world.

Now, think about your friends and family and how many times it has been hit by cancer. We know that in some cases, like mine and over 250 PMC Living Proof cyclists, it can be beaten. And in others, like my aunt and countless others, it cannot. I believe that we need to make it so that “cannots” of the future are “cans”. Because of this second round, I am now more dedicated to the PMC and its mission. To finish the fight and score the ultimate knockout, making cancer history in our lifetime.

I am not riding in the 2011 PMC. At this time, my energy is not best spent on a bicycle. I will miss and yearn to see all those signs again next year. What I can do now is ask you to help the cause by making a donation to the PMC and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. 100% of the money that you donate will go to provide Dana-Farber’s doctors and researchers the necessary resources to discover cures for all cancers. Thank you!

Tomorrow, Round 6…..

Related articles

• Finally, Some Good News (andyridesagainstcancer.wordpress.com)
• Treatments Planned (andyridesagainstcancer.wordpress.com)
• Waiting for Tomorrow to Become Today (andyridesagainstcancer.wordpress.com)
• Sitting in the chair (andyridesagainstcancer.wordpress.com)

Because….

The big check announcement was last Friday night. I am so proud to be one of the 5,000 cyclists involved in the work to create a $33 million check to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

The 2010 PMC donation to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

I want to say thank you to all my supporters for doing your part to make this happen. In 4 years, 175 people have donated to my ride a total of  $26,179. I am in awe of the continued encouragement and support I receive from all of you. And it is because of you that I am, right now, committed to riding my 5th PMC in 2011 to celebrate my 15th year of life after my cancer treatment!

I am now more committed to this cause than ever.

 

• Because of the encouragement and support that you have given me.
• Because of the notes and phone calls I receive from friends who just want to talk about their family’s battle against cancer.
• Because of the knowledge that a world where cancer is treatable, manageable, and curable is obtainable, if not in my lifetime, then in my daughter’s.
• Because one of you receives an email from Senator John Kerry every year about the PMC and to get a donation and you write him back to tell him that you are on board, but that you will supporting me instead of him.
• Because of the hundreds of signs, put up along the PMC route by people I don’t know and will never meet, thanking the riders for riding a bike, saying that their mom or dad or son or daughter now have a chance to beat the cancer that they are fighting.
• Because of the families in my life that are battling this disease right now.

Four words: A cure for cancer.

That is the ultimate goal. The PMC is one part of the grand mission to make that happen. My annual ride is just one small piece of that mission. Your continued emotional and financial support in all of this is INVALUABLE.

I will kick off my fundraising next February 23rd, the 15th anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. My fundraising goal for 2011 will be $7,500.  I know that I can count on you for your support!

Big Day for Fundraising & More Pics of 2010 Ride

After much waiting and consternation (I know, big word to start a blog post with and hope that people will keep reading), I have finally sent off my last chunk of fundraising checks to a generous person who has agreed to match! Right now, this year’s PMC fundraising total is

$4,858

Thanks to the generosity of so many people, and this amazing match, the total will be at least:

$6,858

WOW! I am so grateful… if you have not donated this year and would still like to, it would be great to get that number over $7,000. You can still donate at http://www.pmc.org/as0171.

OKAY – enough with the fundraising, lets get to some fun pictures of my 2010 Pan-Mass Challenge weekend, courtesy of my sister-in-law. These pics were all taken at the Wareham waterstop, which is the 4th stop of day 1 of the PMC. It also happens to be at the 100-mile mark. Last year, the tradition of our team meeting up to enjoy some fresh pie started. Oh, how we all look forward to this stop! Thanks to Kathi Nelson for making it so special!

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Thanks to all of you have supported me again this year.

New Balance Offer

Each time an order is placed through NBwebexpress.com/pmc, New Balance will contribute 15% of the sale to your ride, plus you get Free Shipping with any order. This offer is good only if you click this link or the banner above to take you to the My New Balance Page. The offer is valid through August 8, 2010

2010. I AM IN!

Hello again! It has been quite a while since I wrote on my blog here. Since finishing last year’s amazing PMC adventure, a few things have happened on this end. Lets see if I can give you a quick rundown (these are in no particular order):

our daughter, Shannon Josephine at 5 months

1. My wife Michele gave birth to our amazing daughter Shannon Josephine (right) who blesses our life every day with a million smiles
2. We decided to move to Baltimore so that Michele could take a faculty position at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health.
3. We sold our condo in Somerville.
4. We purchased a new home in Baltimore
5. We temporarily had to move into my in-laws (for 4 weeks) in between purchase and sale
6. we’ve moved to Baltimore and then got clobbered by 50 inches of snow in 1 week
7. oh and I almost forgot – 3 weeks before Shannon was born, I broke my collarbone in a freak soccer accident

So, needless to say, my thoughts have not be very focused on the PMC lately. In fact, at one point, I asked my Team Forza-G mates to “talk me into riding this year”. As our family has undergone so much change and a major addition, I was thinking that maybe I would take a year off. Heck, I don’t even have my road bike with me here in Maryland.

But I decided recently, after two long and persuasive discussions with Michele, that I would again saddle up and take the Pan-Mass Challenge. I have been through my reasons many times. The bottomline is this: we are trying to cure cancer here people – and it’s not as impossible as you might think. In fact, every day, the cure is closer. As is said throughout the PMC, ‘closer by the mile’.

I have chosen the occasion of, as my esteemed boss would say, my natal anniversary (aka my birthday) to ask my dear friends, family, and supporters to continue to help us in the cause to make cancer history. This goal is closer than ever before, because of the valuable research dollars that the PMC provides the researchers and doctors at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Why do I spend hour upon hour of my spring and summer training and fundraising? To try to make sure everyone can have a chance to live their life, to fulfill their dreams, to live to their potential, even if they get cancer. I try to do this every day in my life. It has been 14 years since my diagnosis of Hodgkins Disease – and I know that the treatments are therapies are better than they ever have before. And in 14 more years, they will be even better. This is why I ride.

The PMC is not a race, it is a ride. But the battle against cancer, and thus the fundraising is a race. We can make a difference and save lives. Lets make this dream a reality. Thank you for all your support.

>> please make your donation here: http://www.pmc.org/profile/AS0171

PMC Weekend Recap

I have had a couple of weeks now to reflect on the amazing PMC 2009 Weekend. It went by very quickly. I saw many old friends and familiar faces and made many many new friends. I don’t think I can accurately explain how emotional the entire event is. From the Opening Ceremonies in Sturbridge all the way through the return to Boston Harbor, all I can remember being on the verge of laughter or tears.

Why Laughter?

Because for 2 days, all I have to do is ride my bike with my teammates. What a unique privilege! I am blessed to have the life that I have, with the wonderful family and friends who support my efforts. I am fortunate to have crossed paths with the PMC (thank you Jaime!) at the right time and place in my life where I was ready, willing, motivated, and passionate to join the cause. All I have to do for 2 days is ride a bike – sign me up!

Why the tears?

Every mile, you see someone holding a sign up telling you about someone that they know who is battling or has been taken by cancer. Some folks just say thank you. Some folks clap and yell and cheer you on. This isn’t every now and again. This is in every town, on every road, around every corner for 192 miles. You see who cancer has touched and I know personally I get stronger and more determined whenever I see these people and signs.

You also see the tributes that other cyclists make and wear/carry with them on their ride. How can you not be touched to see a pair of cyclists riding side by side, the guy with a yellow sign on his back saying “Living Proof Dad” and the gal with a sign saying “Living Proof Daughter”? You can see a picture of these two on the PMC homepage right now (about halfway down on the right).

Or how about Jack?

And then there is the Pedal Partners. Team Forza-G proudly rode for Mason, a somewhat shy, yet precocious 5 year old. We saw him at one of the waterstops on Saturday. That gave each and every one of us a huge adrenaline rush.

All that I have left to say to you, the readers, my supporters, my donors, is THANK YOU. Without you, I would just be some guy riding a bike. Because of you, I have a cause, a purpose, and motivation. I could not do it without you.

Soccer Tourney Wrapup

Thank you for playing in the 2009 Kickin' Cancer Soccer Tournament.

The first Kickin’ Cancer Soccer Tournament is in the books and I am proud to announce the champion: Orange Talent. It was a great day of soccer and fundraising for the Jimmy Fund. I would like to thank all 134 players, their friends and family who came by to watch, the sponsors, my family, and the Amesbury Sports Park staff for making the entire day one that I will never forget.

If you would like to check out the photos from the day, please visit this site. Photos are available for purchase with the proceeds going to the Pan-Mass Challenge and the Jimmy Fund.  Shortly, I will post some of my favorite pics from the weekend for everyone to see.

Orange Talent, 2009 Champs

Orange Talent won Division A and defeated the 2nd seed from Division B, C and J Team in the semifinals. Then they faced off, in their 6th match of the day, against the Boston Breakers, a team representing the front office staff of the WPS team, which had won Division B. Orange Talent showed their pace and skill in the final, scoring on the counterattack a couple of times, and delivering a well-deserved trophy to their case.

I spoke with many players and friends during the day. I tried to thank everyone personally for coming and participating. My favorite part of the day was at 10:15 AM, as I was starting to stretch out for my first game, standing on the deck, being able to see all 4 games, realizing that my dream of hosting this event had finally become reality.

Orange Talent captain Gino accepts the Kickin' Cancer championship trophy

But now that the trophy has been passed to our first champion, the job is not done. We still need to focus on the goal – making cancer history.  If you would like to make a donation to my PMC efforts, you can do so on my PMC Page.

2009 PMC – 10 days and counting.