2008 Pan-Mass Challenge

[ornoth]

With summer here, it’s once again time for my annual posting to ask you to sponsor my Pan-Mass Challenge ride.

Apologies to those of you who have seen this already. Bear with me; I’m afraid there’s quite a bit of overlap in many of my communities.

And since most of you here have already heard plenty about the PMC in previous years, I’ll limit myself to the highlights.

You already know that the 200-mile, 2-day ride raises money for life-saving cancer research and treatment via the Jimmy Fund and Boston’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and that the PMC is the Jimmy Fund’s largest single contributor, generating half of their annual revenue and enabling many kinds of research that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

The PMC is also the most effective athletic fundraiser in the world. Most fundraisers devote as much as 30% of contributions to the administrative cost of running their event. In contrast, the PMC is a model of efficiency, running a bike ride that spans two days, seven different routes, sixteen water stops, and supports over five thousand riders passing through forty-six towns—in addition to running twenty-two smaller kids’ rides—without taking a single penny of the funds raised by our riders.

Last year, I was able to play a bigger part in that awesome achievement than ever before. Thanks to many of your help, I raised over $10,000 for cancer research, treatment, and prevention, and I have now raised over $37,000 during my eight years as a PMC rider. This year’s minimum is $4,000, and my goal is to once again surpass the Heavy Hitter level, which is $6,700.

Last year I rode in honor of my friends Ken and Christine. Ken was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in early 2005, and spent that summer enduring an intense chemotherapy regimen. In 2006, shortly after his first anniversary post-treatment, Ken’s cancer had fully returned, and he spent the winter of 2006-2007 in another six months of chemo.

At the time of last year’s ride, Ken had made it through that treatment regimen, and he and Christine were looking forward to a planned wedding in May of 2008.

But Ken’s cancer returned just before Christmas, and he went through his third series of chemotherapy this past January. Afterward, Ken’s doctors told him that there was little they could do to achieve a permanent cure short of a bone marrow stem cell transplant.

A month or so ago, just before the stem cell transplant, a PET scan showed that Ken has new tumors in his spine, spleen, and armpit. He immediately began his first radiation treatment, which will be followed by a fourth round of chemo, and possibly the removal of his spleen.

All this occurred just days before the original date of Ken and Christine’s wedding, which they had to put off for another year.

Because they’ve had such a difficult time of it, this year I am once again riding in Ken’s honor.

Cancer is both pernicious and pervasive. One in three Americans will contract cancer during our lifetimes, and one in four deaths is attributable to cancer. It is imperative that we devote the manpower and money necessary to better understand, treat, and prevent this deadly family of diseases.

Each year, I make a concrete contribution in the fight against cancer. It gives me an incredible sense of accomplishment, satisfaction, and hope. It’s a feeling I hope you’ll share if you choose to sponsor my ride by making a donation to the Jimmy Fund at this Web page:

http://ornoth.pmcrider.com/

As I did last year, this year I am also offering a special bonus for anyone who contributes $200 or more. This year’s gift is a Pan-Mass Challenge logo refrigerator magnet, such as can be seen here:

http://ornoth.com/pmc_magnet.jpg

And if you’d like to look through my writeups, photos, and videos from previous years, or keep updated on this year’s training, those can all be found at:

http://www.ornoth.com/bicycling/

Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear from you soon!