Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
Years after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, Mike Hughes is making his fifth consecutive trek to Massachusetts for a day of biking, mingling and fundraising in the name of cancer research and support.
On Saturday, Aug. 5, Hughes will join more than 6,200 other cyclists from more than 40 states and eight countries to participate in the annual Pan-Mass Challenge.
Created by Billy Starr in 1980, the annual bike-a-thon that spans two days, features 12 different routes and runs through 46 towns for a total of 192 miles through the The Bay State. Since its inception, the event has raised $547 million for adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through the Jimmy Fund.
“We are thrilled to be approaching our 38th PMC ride weekend,” Starr said. “Seeing our growth over the years has been truly incredible and we look forward to achieving our fundraising goal of $48 million.”
As a New Jersey native, Hughes said he first heard of the annual bike ride through his day job at Eisai, Inc., a Woodcliff Lake pharmaceutical company that sponsors the event ever year.
“Our company gives us three days a year to get go out and participate in events that meet our ‘Human Health Care mission’…which allows us to interact and deal with patients or get involved with the community surrounding health care,” he said.
Having been diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2007, Hughes said he quickly decided that the PMC was going to be his way of giving back to fellow cancer survivors and current patients.
“I enjoy interacting with people like me who were patients, as well as survivors and their families,” the Hillsborough resident said. “Obviously, you’re raising money for cancer research and hopefully we can get rid of cancer, but you’re also doing it for therapeutic reasons.”
After having gone through surgeries and chemotherapy in his fight against testicular cancer, Hughes said he initially started riding for his own connection to the disease. His motivations grew over the years as cancer began to affect the rest of his family.
“My father passed away from lung cancer a few years ago, so for a while I was riding for him,” he said. “Then someone else in my family was diagnosed with cancer and I just found that you have to just keep those people in the forefront.”
More than 820 riders and volunteers are cancer survivors or current patients, officials said, with the average cyclist training three months, getting donations from 40 sponsors and raising more than $7,000.
This year, Hughes’ ride will last 111 miles from Sturbridge, Mass. to Bourne, Mass. For those unfamiliar with the geography, that is a little less than the equivalent of bicycling from Philadelphia to Stamford, Conn. He hopes to raise $4,000 by the end of September, which would bring his total contributions since he started back in 2012 to approximately $20,000.
Though Hughes said he was more than happy to contribute what he could with his time, effort and monetary donations, he said his annual bike ride against cancer was more than the sum of those parts.
“This is just a really great community involvement event that everyone in the Boston area get behind. It’s really like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Hughes said. “It’s very touching and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bring a tear to my eye during the experience.”
