A Reason to Ride
A Reason to Ride
Sunday, September 9, 2018
A Reason to Ride started out as a labor of love for brain cancer survivor
and grateful Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) patient, Tom
DesFosses. Along with his wife, Judy, their close friend, Bob Barry and
numerous grateful patients, friends, and family, they launched A Reason to
Ride in 2008 to raise funds for Eric Wong, M.D., and the Brain Tumor Fund.
Join us each year as we continue our efforts to support the critical
research being done, leading to better treatments and someday a cure.
A Reason to Ride presented by Fuddruckers is an annual bike-a-thon with the
option of 10- 25- or 50-mile bike rides through the north shore towns of
Danvers, Beverly, Wenham, Essex, and Gloucester to benefit cancer care and
research at BIDMC. The family-friendly event also features a trike-a-thon
for kids, a Fuddruckers cookout, raffles, music, a car show, and much more.
Each year the ride draws an increasing number of riders, participants, and
supporters and has surpassed its ambitious fundraising goals. In 2011, Tom
and Dr. Wong expanded the ride to support other cancer areas within BIDMC.
They recognize that cancer touches everyone's lives in different ways and A
Reason to Ride could continue to grow by joining forces with other grateful
patients and supporting their personal connections to BIDMC's cancer
center.
Since its start in 2008, the ride has raised more than $610,000. These
funds have supported research initiatives and lab researchers. Dr. Wong and
his team of researchers recently completed and published research papers
with findings that directly impacted brain cancer patients' treatments at
BIDMC and beyond. They also investigated the function of cerebrospinal
fluid, the clear fluid that occupies the space around the brain and found
that the fluid is an important channel for the body to send signals to
promote growth and brain tumor development. The implications for how this
knowledge could influence future research and care are yet to be uncovered,
but the potential is exciting. Continued funding will allow research such
as this to continue and could accelerate the discovery of improved cancer
treatments and hopefully someday, a cure.
For more information on this year's ride, to register, or to donate, visit
www.areasontoride.com.
