#WhyIPMC guest blog by Shawn Fagan, 8-year participant, Team Ocean State Cancer Crushers
I ride PMC so Dana-Farber can find the cure for “incurable cancer”. By lowering toxicity of treatments and increasing life expectancy.
In 2009 my wife Diane was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. The time leading up to the diagnosis was very difficult. Diane was sick all the time with debilitating symptoms and we didn’t know why. Fortunately they found it and it is a curable form of cancer. My Dad survived bladder cancer because it was found and treated quickly. My mother-in-law died of the toxicity of treatments she had for breast cancer.
Our story with PMC began after my wife Diane’s high school class reunion in 2010.
Where we began a friendship with Jay and Andrée a classmate of my wife. In 2011 the nice couple informed us they would loose their 11 year old nephew to an incurable form of childhood brain cancer Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. And unfortunately 12 years later 1% survive past a year and it still has No Cure. Immunotherapy has shown some promise with kids with DIPG but the results are still unsatisfactory. No Cure.
I began as a PMC donor and supporter. A volunteer bagpiper for our friends PMC rest stop to rally the riders from years 2014-2019. 
In 2021 I signed up for the New PMC Century and lost 50lbs training for it. Upon registration a life long friend since 1977 Paul Hartley informed me he had stage 4 Renal Cell Carcinoma (kidney cancer) and his future was uncertain.
Months leading up to the ride I learned that the development of kidney cancer treatment took a giant step forward by Dana-Farber. It is keeping my friend Alive. Proving that research and the PMC produces positive results.
The life expectancy for Renal Cell Carcinoma used to be one year and now it’s 5. I’ve learned that Dana-Farber believes this type of research can find cures for other types of cancer including brain cancer.
Upon completion of PMC weekend 2021 Paul Hartley and I began riding our bikes in circles around Veterans Cemetery in Exeter Rhode Island. And we started to talk about establishing our own PMC team to give back to the place saving his life.
2022 wearing replicas of our 1988 high school football uniforms Paul and I rode the 100 mile PMC Century as PMC team Ocean State Cancer Crushers. With our wives and other life long time friends we waited for each other to cross the finish line together.
2023 our PMC team OSCC roster is 24 riders. We are riding the two day 162 miles
Training is important and so is fundraising. I ride 200 miles per week as a sign of my commitment and to raise awareness.
It is my hope that by contributing to collaborative cancer research at Dana Farber they will find the cure for all types of cancer. 
