At some point, in some way, cancer touches every one of us. And while we must each find our own way to fight back, we are most effective when we take action together. To that end, Pirenaica, the Go Mitch Go Foundation, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research are combining their expertise and teaming up to fight cancer.
Pirenaica brings to the partnership a rich history of masterfully guided cycling adventures in Europe's most compelling, and most demanding, destinations. The Go Mitch Go Foundation, founded at the passing of 10-year-old Mitchell Whitaker from blood cancer, organizes athletes to compete in endurance sporting events to raise money for cancer programs. Completing the triad, the Koch Institute at MIT conducts game-changing research to create new solutions for the detection, treatment and monitoring of cancer. Together the three organizations are joining forces to send athletes to Europe, to raise awareness and funding for cancer research through six days of cycling the great tour routes of the Pyrenees in July 2014.
At the heart of the collaboration is the Go Mitch Go Foundation's mission to 'keep fighting,' born out of the last words that Mitchell Whitaker spoke to his father. Fulfilling those marching orders from Mitchell, the Foundation has raised more than $800,000 dollars to date to fund cancer research and patient initiatives. An experienced provider of endurance sports coaching and events organization to drive fundraising efforts against cancer, Go Mitch Go is assembling teams of riders willing to test themselves against Europe's most challenging peaks and committed to fighting one of the world's most challenging diseases by raising funds to support research at the Koch Institute.
Engaged in research, an endurance exercise of a different kind, the Koch Institute focuses on five areas that it believes are critical for rapid progress toward controlling cancer: developing nanotechnology-based cancer therapeutics; creating novel devices for cancer detection and monitoring; exploring the molecular and cellular basis of metastasis; advancing personalized medicine through analysis of cancer pathways and drug resistance; and finally, engineering the immune system to fight cancer.
Not only is the Koch Institute's research innovative, but so is their approach. They bring together researchers from many disciplines - biologists, materials science, chemical and biological engineers, chemists, computer scientists and others - as well as clinical and industry partners, because they know that by combining science and technology, by working collaboratively and thinking outside the boundaries of individual fields, they can make great advances.
Pirenaica ties Go Mitch Go's and the Koch Institute’s efforts all together, handling the logistics of the Pyrenees tour. The cycling industry's premier tour company, Pirenaica is known for the unique experiences and personal touch it shows participants. In the case of the cancer research-fundraising team, one of these special opportunities is the chance to ride with cycling legend Miguel Indurain, who will join the mountain tour. Pirenaica takes cyclists on an unforgettable journey that connects them to themselves, to the landscape and to each other. On this trip, that connection extends equally to the fight against cancer, the cause that inspired them to join the effort.
This three-way partnership - between Pirenaica, the Go Mitch Go Foundation, and the Koch Institute - brings the collaborative approach of MIT's cancer research labs to the world of endurance sports, driven by a passionate mission to provide direct financial support for cutting-edge cancer research that will change the game for patients and their families.
Miguel Indurain has also confirmed his support to this project!