2004 marked our first Pan Mass as riders and volunteers, after our son and brother Jared was diagnosed with spinal/cranial tumors. Later that fall I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After surgery and treatment at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute I am fully recovered. Jared's battle with cancer began in 2003 after his junior year at Alfred University/NYS College Of Ceramics. After fighting this terrible disease for almost 2 1/2 years, Jared passed away on September 27, 2005. He was 23 years old. Jared was an artist of extraordinary ability and passion. He was an athlete and league champion in wrestling, track, and soccer. He was a scholar of art history, hispanic culture and was fluent in Spanish. Jared endured the most rigorous treatments at the Jimmy Fund Clinic and Children's Hospital Boston, all the while maintaining his kindness, his positive outlook, and living his life to the fullest. The care and compassion that Jared received there and that we received there to this day was, and remains, extraordinary.