The history of Team BBS and why I started riding in the PMC began in 2017 when my niece’s husband, Kayur Shah, was diagnosed with Stage IV Lung Cancer while also battling the autoimmune disease, Scleroderma. Kayur’s humor and pride came out best after his cancer diagnosis when he stated, “I want a hash tag”. The rest is history as #BBS (Brown Boy Strong) and Brown v Cancer were created. Sadly, Kayur lost his courageous battle to these two diseases on June 17, 2019 but his memory lives on through Team BBS. From the initial ride with my brother-in-law in 2017, Team BBS has grown into a small collection of family and friends riding together for the same purpose. Team BBS was created in honor of Kayur but each rider has their own story and reason to ride in this event.
This year the story of why I ride in the PMC is extremely personal. My mother passed away from Stage IV Lung Cancer January 7, 2023. She fought and battled this disease for 3 long years. I moved her up from Florida to live with me, my wife and daughter in August of 2020 after we successfully got her admitted for treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Ironically, I was able to have her treated by the same Oncologist that Kayur received treatment from – Dr. David Kwiatkowski – or as most of us refer to him by, Dr. K.
Over the next 3 years, my mother received tremendous care from Dr. K and his entire team while she battled her disease. Dr. K provided us with answers and a sense of calm as he treated my mother. The treatments he recommended over this same time allowed us to enjoy additional time with her. I am convinced that if my mother had not received the care and treatment from the Dana-Farber, she would not have survived for as long as she did.
2023 represents the 7th year I’ll be riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge. I’m just as excited this year as the first year I rode. The atmosphere I experienced during my first ride was amazing and I have become addicted to the event and more importantly, the cause. Over the past 6 years Team BBS has successfully raised over $279,000 for the Dana-Farber.
I am neither a doctor nor a scientist that can come up with a cure for these diseases, but riding in the PMC is my way of doing my part in the fight against cancer. I ride and fundraise to help support doctors like Dr. K and all those that work at the Dana Farber. They are special people committed to fighting cancer - Riding in the PMC is my way of feeling I am contributing to that same cause.
PEACE.