guest blog post by Lauren Lenkaitis Raffoni (PMC Winter Cycle instructor, 11am session)

My name is Joe Marino and I’m riding in the 2018 PMC Winter Cycle event at Fenway Park, I have previously ridden in the Resolution spinning event at the George Foreman Gym.  I’m also a 44 month survivor of Pancreatic Cancer.  I was diagnosed on March 3rd, 2014 and had a Whipple on April 2nd 2014, I was 36 years old when I was diagnosed.  

My freshman year of high school, I was an average 14 year old girl. I spent a lot of time with my 4 siblings, I danced every day at my Mothers dance school, and I played goalkeeper competitively on 2 different soccer teams. While playing winter season, I took a soccer ball to the stomach leading to 2 months of pain, bruising and fatigue. Originally written off as a sports injury, ultimately led my parents and I to Boston Children’s Hospital and a final diagnosis of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.