Making Connections through PMC Young Professionals Night & Tour of DFCI

Last Thursday, more than 100 PMC riders and volunteers gathered at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to network with young professionals in the PMC family and learn more about the impact funds raised by the PMC have at the Institute. 

During the event, guests toured Dana-Farber to see first-hand the ground breaking research and treatments conducted at the Institute. From the healing garden where patients and their families go for reflection to the blue and red gene display where improving patients’ genetic codes are represented digitally by colors and wave lengths along two walls, PMCers saw just how far we have come and the miles still needed to pedal  in the fight against cancer. One of the most memorable parts of the tour: walking across the PMC Bridge where 34 years of PMC history are documented in the form of photographs, jerseys and quotes.

PMC riders and volunteers walked through 34 years of history across the PMC Bridge at Dana-Farber guided Jimmy Fund Associate Director Rebecca Freedman. 

J.C. Lapierre, Northeast Marketing and Sales Leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), spoke about her company’s support of the PMC and how PwC’s commitment to the cause inspired her to volunteer and ride. More than one hundred cyclists strong, Team PwC is the largest corporate rider team in PMC history. In its fourth year of riding and sponsoring the event, PwC put heart and soul into presenting the Wellesley hub site at Babson College for the third straight year. In addition to PwC cyclists, more than 50 employees volunteer to support all aspects of PMC weekend.  Lapierre is a veteran PMC volunteer and three-time PMC cyclist who rides as part of the team.  

Maggie Loucks, a cancer survivor and nurse practitioner at Dana-Farber, shared how her experience battling invasive breast cancer at 28 years old inspired her to treat other patients and led her to the PMC. She was diagnosed in January 2012 right as she was finishing her degree to become a nurse practitioner. Loucks immediately began an individualized chemotherapy treatment plan that was led by her oncologist, Dr. Ann Patridge, founder and director of the Program for Young Women with Breast Cancer at Dana-Farber.  After undergoing one year of treatments, Loucks was cancer-free. In the winter of 2013, she began working as nurse practitioner in the Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology at Dana-Farber, caring for patients on the exact floor where she was treated. Through her experience working with other oncology patients, including the late Erica Kaitz, a long-time PMC rider and volunteer, Loucks is inspired to take part in her first PMC.

From left to right: J.C. Lapierre, a veteran PMC volunteer, three-time cyclist and member of Team PwC; Maggie Loucks, a cancer survivor and nurse practitioner at Dana-Farber who will ride for the first time in the PMC this August; and Sarah Mercurio Hall, Director of Volunteers & Special Events for the Pan-Mass Challenge.

Have a look at the photo gallery from PMC Young Professional Night & Tour at DFCI.

On Aug. 2 and 3, Lapierre, Loucks and the young professionals who attended this event, will be among more than 5,800 cyclists who will ride in the 35th annual PMC. They will ride up to 190 miles through 46 towns across Massachusetts to raise $40 million to support adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber through the Jimmy Fund.  Since its founding in 1980, the PMC has raised and contributed $414 million. Known as “seed money,” PMC funds enable clinicians and scientists to pursue innovative research and develop treatments at Dana-Farber that are then used to help cancer patients around the world. 

To register to ride or volunteer in the 35th annual Pan-Mass Challenge, which is set for Aug. 2 and 3, or to support a PMC cyclist, visit www.pmc.org.  

Post courtesy of Allison from Teak Media + Communication, with special contribution by PMC's Sarah Mercurio Hall and photo credit to Gilma Vargas.