Pan Mass Challenge Update

The tradition of the Pan Mass Challenge dates back to the year 1980. It all began when avid outdoors man, Billy Starr, hiked the Appalachian trail in honor of his mother’s untimely death from melanoma. Starr’s mental and physical drive to finish, as well as his unequivocal desire to raise money for cancer research, became the inspiration for the modern day bike ride across Massachusetts. The PMC has come a long way since the days of Billy’s founding journey, becoming a nearly $5 billion industry in the past four decades. After all this time the heart of the mission remains the same: the hope for a cure and the best care possible for those diagnosed with cancer.

The FULLer CUP’s special connection to the Pan Mass Challenge comes from customer Julie, and her full circle experience with Dana-Farber cancer research.

If you’ve been to the FULLer CUP in the past few months there’s a good chance you’ve heard Julie’s story while grabbing your morning coffee. Based on a telling hunch and the diagnosis of a good friend, Julie scheduled an appointment with her doctor. Her fears were confirmed when she was diagnosed with ovarian cysts that were assumed to be benign. However, further tested showed the initial findings were cancerous, and months of chemotherapy followed. With the support of friends and family Julie remained optimistic throughout her journey. During that period she watched the Pan Mass Challenge from the hospital and made a goal for herself: not only would she be in remission at this time next year, but she would ride for Dana-Farber research herself.

In 2018 she did just that, and set out to accomplish the same goal the next year. This time around she reached out to the FULLer CUP for support. In conjunction with owner Laura, the two came up with an idea for a pastry that would be a delicious was to raise money. Using Baker Liz’s talents their inspiration became a reality: the PMC bar for the PMC Challenge. Filled with delicious pecans, Macadamia nuts, chocolate, and coconuts, each of these bars came with the added bonus of a $2 donation. The final sales for the bar totaled 260, meaning a total of $520 raised by FULLer CUP customers, not including amounts donated outside of PMC bar sales.

The FULLer CUP would like to thank everyone who helped make sales of the PMC bar a success, as well as those who helped through other donation or by raising awareness. There’s still a long way to go in the fight against cancer, and we are stronger together than we are apart. A special thanks to Julie for sharing her PMC pictures, and a big congratulations on the big finish!