Before I dive in, I’d like to give a brief description of what the Pan-Mass Challenge is for those of you that have not heard of it. Straight from their website:
“The Pan-Mass Challenge is a Massachusetts-based bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country. Always held the first weekend in August, the PMC raises funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a world leader in adult and pediatric cancer treatment and research.” [1]
In a nutshell, participants are expected to sign up for a route to ride and raise a minimum of $6,000 to donate to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
I have never been someone that biked a lot as a kid. Sure, I knew how to ride, but I’d never go more than a couple of miles – and it was always for pleasure. I certainly never trained to be able to bike long distances. Also, when the heck am I supposed to start calling it “cycling” instead of “biking”?! After 20 miles? 50 miles?!
Along with that, I have never been a part of a massive fundraising event. I’ve attended a few large fundraising events, but I’ve never been the one asking for donations or coming up with new and inventive ways of raising money. The most I’ve ever done in that respect was go door-to-door, raising money for my youth football program as a kid.
So, why on Earth would I – someone who has never really biked much or learned how to fundraise on a large scale – want to participate in a “bike-a-thon that raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country”?
Let’s head back to the beginning.
When we were growing up, my brother, sister, and I spent a lot of time with our aunt, uncle and two of our cousins: Auntie Stace, Uncle Alan, Connor, and Calli. We loved every second of our time with them.
We would meander through the woods behind their house and pretend we were “surviving in the wilderness,” or we would build forts to protect us from imaginary creatures. We always looked forward to our next visit, and we never wanted to leave. It was one of my favorite places in the world!
Then, in 2004, something happened that changed all of our lives forever. My Uncle Alan was diagnosed with testicular cancer. At the time, I was only ten years old. I don’t really think I understood the seriousness of what was going on, I just knew that my uncle was very sick, and that I wouldn’t be able to see him for a while.
But, when you’re a young kid who loves their family, these things are just bumps in the road. They have to get better, right? There’s no other option. The negative outcomes don’t wholly form in the innocent minds of children.
Uncle Alan’s cancer spread quickly throughout his body, and the outlook did not look promising for him. He had to undergo surgery that had only been done on a handful of people in the world. The risks were endless, but it was his best option. Complications from this surgery nearly killed him.
I nearly lost my uncle.
With support from his family and closest friends, he was able to continue fighting. He won, but not without overcoming tremendous hurdles. If you’d like to read more about Uncle Alan’s journey, check out his Survivor Story here, written by his son, Connor.
And, of course, you wouldn’t be reading this unless you knew a little bit about my own history with cancer. I won’t go too in depth here; you’re welcome to read any of the posts on this website if you’re interested in getting more details. Long story short, I have had to fight for my life twice. Once in high school, and once in college – both leukemia. I spent years dealing with and recovering from a lot of radiation, even more chemo, a bone marrow transplant, and more pills than I can count.
On top of that, my grandmother has been battling chronic leukemia for a decade, and Connor’s grandfather passed away from cancer in 2009. My wife’s grandfather just overcame his battle with prostate cancer. A close friend’s amazing niece passed away from brain cancer. My in-law’s neighbor’s son just passed away from brain cancer, leaving a wife and three young children behind. The list, unfortunately, goes on.
So I’ll ask the same question: why do I want to participate in this event?
I am doing it to keep hope alive that we will someday beat down cancer once and for all.
I ride for everyone I know who’s been affected by this horrible disease.
I ride to give back to a cause that has saved my life twice.
I ride for my wife, who sacrificed so much to help me survive.
I ride for my parents and the rest of my family members who were in my corner through the darkest times in my life, right by my side, cheering me on.
I ride for the incredible person who donated her bone marrow to save the life of a total stranger.
I ride for the nurses and doctors that cared for me during my treatments better than I could have ever hoped.
I ride for the friends that stood by me while I was at my worst, motivating me to keep fighting.
I ride for all of the people that are going through cancer treatments now who may not have the family, the friends, or the medical teams that I was fortunate enough to have.
I ride to prove that cancer can’t keep me or anyone else down. I want to be the living proof that others need to keep fighting.
I ride to kick cancer’s ass.
And, when you hear whose idea it was to join the Pan Mass Challenge in the first place, you’ll understand our family.
My Uncle Alan.
It was the easiest “yes” I’d ever given; I didn’t have to give it a second thought. A chance for my family and I to make a difference for even one person was enough for me to jump at this opportunity.
So, my Uncle Alan, my cousin Connor, and I created Team Five Balls (I’m going to let you readers infer where that name came from on your own). We will be riding 187.4 miles and fundraising as much money as we possibly can to aid in the fight against cancer.
Will we be stepping out of our comfort zones to do this? Absolutely. But what is a “Survivor State of Mind”? Well, it’s been written on the homepage of this website since I created it two years ago. It states:
“A ‘Survivor State of Mind’ requires an individual to believe in themselves and their ability to keep fighting no matter what challenge is in their way. A Survivor State of Mind is maintained through a sense of humor, always believing, setting goals, leaning on love, and some may even have the desire to inspire others along their journey.”
That sure sounds like it fits this situation to me. I share stories about this mindset all the time, so I’ll walk my own walk (or, “ride” my own walk?). Comfort zone or not, a Survivor doesn’t back down. We’ll believe in each other, we’ll keep on pedaling, and we’ll do our best to inspire others to do the same.
If you feel the selfless desire to donate to our cause, the link to the Team Five Balls Pan-Mass Challenge donation page can be found here. If you do choose to donate, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Together, we WILL make a difference.
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And, to anyone out there who would like to share your experience with cancer, how it affected your life, and any messages you’d like to send out to others who may be going through similar experiences, please feel free to reach out to me! I would love to help you tell your story just like Robert did in his Survivor Story.
As always guys, I’m available through my contact page or Instagram if you have any questions, tips of your own, topics you would like to see covered, or just feel like chatting to someone that’s been through it. I am always here for you.
-Alex
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Featured image on this post is one of my own.
Citations:
[1]https://www.pmc.org/