Dana-Farber president and CEO reflects on power of Pan-Mass Challenge before his upcoming ride
Dr. Ben Ebert, the president and chief executive officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, sees firsthand the impact of Pan-Mass Challenge funding on Dana-Farber's research and breakthroughs.
"It is the most amazing community I've ever seen," Dr. Ebert said.
He also appreciates the vitality of the PMC community as an eight-year rider. "I'm a sucker for athletic fundraisers," Dr. Ebert said. "But this is unlike any athletic fundraiser in the world by far. It is a tight community. People are so devoted to supporting each other, supporting everybody with cancer wherever they are, supporting the idea that we don't want to treat cancer patients in the future the way we treat them now. We were always going to improve the care for cancer. And this is such a big part of it."
This year, Ebert's wife will ride her second PMC. Their 20-year-old son is a four-year rider. Their daughter participated in the ride in 2025.
Since 1980, the PMC has raised more than $1.125 billion for Dana-Farber research. It now represents 67% of the Jimmy Fund and touches virtually everything at the renowned cancer institute.
Dr. Ebert says, as a flexible funding source, PMC funding helps Dana-Farber recruit the best cancer doctors and scientists in the world. "Also, it has helped create a community here where scientists work with clinicians," Dr. Ebert said. "Different types of scientists work together. Different types of clinicians work together within Dana-Farber. And we collaborate so broadly with institutions outside Dana-Farber. And that ecosystem, that culture of collaboration and taking on the hardest problems, was really enabled all the way through by the PMC."
One breakthrough made possible, in part, with PMC funding, is the breakthrough treatment for pancreatic cancer. In clinical trials, it has more than doubled the survival rates for late-stage pancreatic cancer patients.
Until now, the most common mutation in pancreatic cancer tumors was considered untreatable. Patients taking the drug called daraxonrasib have seen a median overall survival double from 6.7 months to 13 months.
"It targets a protein called RAS," Dr. Ebert said, "which is an on-off switch for cell growth, and it turns it off. And that is the very first mutation that happens in pancreatic cancer. So, if you can shut it off at the beginning, theoretically, you could potentially target pre-malignant lesions and prevent the development of pancreatic cancer."
Researchers at Dana-Farber, led by Dr. Brian Wolpin, are working to determine whether that is conceivable.
Dr. Ebert also says that as much as researchers rely on PMC funding, it also gives patients an emotional boost to see this "broad community supporting them." Dr. Ebert says that no matter how many times you ride the PMC, it is inspiring every time.
100% of every rider-raised dollar supports cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. WBZ-TV is proud to partner with the Pan-Mass Challenge. For more information, go to pmc.org.
