Pan-Mass Challenge seeks to raise $70M for Dana-Farber

BOSTON — “I think that cancer touches everybody,” says Jennifer Essig, a Pan-Mass Challenge Participant.

The Pan-Mass Challenge -it’s a bicycle ride no one wants to be a part of, but every year millions of people die from cancer.

“I have a grandfather who passed away,” says Essig.

“A really good friend of mine had brain cancer. My mother-in-law got cancer, my mother had cancer, my dad died of cancer, my ex-wife had cancer,” says Seth Rigoletti, a Pan-Mass Challenge Participant.

Since 1980 thousands of cyclists from all over ride for one cause and that’s to raise money to help find a cure for cancer. A father-son duo has participated in the challenge for nearly 40 years combined.

“Sometimes it is grueling, sometimes it is exhilarating but it is all such a great cause, and everybody is riding for that purpose, so you get through it,” says Phil Rotner, a Pan-Mass Challenge Participant.

One of the things that helps the riders get through it is support from thousands of volunteers along the way and of course, family cheering at the end of the course.

“Just knowing what you are raising money for kind of carries you along,” says Rigoletti.

Every dollar raised from the Pan-Mass Challenge goes to Dana Farber Cancer Institute. PMC has a $70 million goal.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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