Dear Friends, Relatives, Colleagues, Classmates, etc,
First, thank you very much for all of you who have donated
to support this very worthy cause. With almost $15 million is pledges so far,
the PMC is on its way to its goal of $38 million this year. Every donation,
large or small, counts towards that goal.
I thought I would update you on how our team's preparation
for the big weekend is coming along. Team Noble Effort (Mike Noble, Kyle Noble,
Hillary Noble, Lydia Gibson, Tom Quirk and myself) is spread out around the
area and across the country. So a lot of our training is done by ourselves or
with some other biker friends. Mike, Tom and I had a good ride recently and
Hillary and I have also been out together a number of times and plan a few more
rides before the event. I have been doing my riding on the Cape. I usually
start along the Cape Cod Canal and then venture out towards Falmouth and Woods
Hole. This way I can get a ride of anywhere from 30 to 70 miles depending on my
mood and the weather. (Why is the wind always against me in both directions
along the canal?). I have put in a lot of miles but have no idea how that will
translate on the big weekend. I've been assured that the group spirit and the
encouragement of spectators and cancer survivors who line the streets will
carry me through.
OK, that's enough about me. Some of you already know that
our Team Leader and inspiration will not be able to participate this year. On a
recent training ride (with me along the windy canal), he took a nasty header into
an embankment and when the dust settled he had broken his collar bone, 5 ribs
and had a punctured lung. This happenned almost 2 weeks ago and now, after
spending a couple nights in the MGH, he is resting UNcomfortably in
Sandwich. He is such a strong supporter of the hospital, the doctors and
this fund raiser that he is quite frustrated by this untimely turn of events.
(Actually, when is a good time to break your collar bone?) Knowing Mike,
I'm sure he will be at every rest stop cheering us on.
If you feel that you can help Dana Farber, the PMC, Team
Noble and, of course, me meet our goals, we would really appreciate your help.
We are directing our fundraising efforts to Dr. Brian
Wolpin's research team in the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center at Dana
Farber. Dr. Wolpin is working with researchers around the country in
conducting innovative research on the causes, detection and treatment of
pancreatic cancer. This is the kind of effort that we need to conquer all forms
of cancer. Here is a snippet of a recent email between Mike and Dr Wolpin.
Hi Mike:
Thank you for the e-mail. I
would be happy to talk with you about our progress since our last meeting,
including on three major fronts: profiling blood samples to find early
diagnostic markers for pancreatic cancer, DNA sequencing to find new areas of
the genome that predispose to development of pancreatic cancer, and DNA
sequencing of pancreatic tumors to identify the drivers of cancer growth. It
really has been an exciting year, as all three of these major projects have
born results. I would also be happy to think about how we can provide you
with some documentation to share.
We certainly appreciate your
continued support and are working hard every day to push the field forward.
Best,
Brian
Brian M. Wolpin, MD, MPH
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
450 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215, USA
There are 3 ways you can donate to this cause. Those of you
who have already donated have used all 3 ways. They are all simple.
By credit card at the pmc site. Go to www.pmc.org and click on Donate.
Enter my full name (Tony Donovan ), select me and then click on Continue to
donate.
Or, by sending a check to PMC. Make out your check to PMC
and send it to this address. Remember to include my name and ID on the
envelope.
Tony Donovan 77952-2
Pan-Mass Challenge
PO Bos 415590
Boston, MA 02241-5590
Or, by sending me a check, made out to me, which I will
endorse over to the PMC and forward for you.
Tony Donovan
23 Rose Court Way
E. Walpole, MA 02032
We sincerely thank you for your help. We know there are lots
of causes asking for you charity dollars, so if you decide to make a donation
now, we appreciate anything you can give to help in this fight. It means a lot
to us but it will mean even more to the future victims of cancer. Feel free to
forward this email to anyone who might want to support this cause.
Thank you!
Tony
