March 10, 2008
Paul Schaye, 10-year PMC cyclist and a cancer "Thriver"
Paul Schaye founder and director of the New York-based mergers and acquisitions firm, Chestnut Hill Partners, is channeling the same focus he has used to run this business, which boasts more than $5 billion in transactions, and manage his hobby as an extreme sports athlete, which includes competing in triathlons, marathons, and long-distance cycling events (as in 750 miles in 90 hours – for fun), to manage his treatment for a rare, stage four stomach cancer, and raise money for research to cure the disease.
And he's not doing it alone. Like any successful entrepreneur, Paul has built a team, dubbed Paul's Posse, which is made up of 40 of the most influential people in business, cancer research, and cycling, to help him achieve his goal.
In October 2006, a few weeks before he was to run the New York Marathon, Paul was putting a package in the trunk of a taxi when he thought he strained his back. After a few days of back pain, he set up an appointment with a doctor / friend, who scheduled him for an MRI. Within days, Paul got the call. "The call that no one ever wants to get; the call that changes everything; the call that literally redefines your life," he specifies.
"The call led to an appointment, which led to a test and then a scan, which led to more calls, appointments, tests and scans, and when the dust settled, around 72 hours after the original call, I got the verdict," he says.
A tumor, larger than a baseball, was growing in his stomach. It was a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), stage IV stomach cancer that had spread to his liver. This was all hard to believe, as he hadn't experienced one symptom. Most people with this type of cancer don't live longer than two years after diagnosis. "Cancer is something other people get. I ride bikes and do triathlons. I raise money for cancer research. I shouldn't have cancer, but I do," Paul says.
For the past 10 years, Paul has ridden 190 miles across Massachusetts in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, two-day cycling event that has raised more than $204 million for cancer research and treatment at the world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund in Boston. The PMC raises more money for charity than any other athletic fundraising event in the nation. Schaye has ridden in the PMC for the fun of it, for the athletic challenge, and to raise money for the Jimmy Fund because he grew up in Boston. Now, however, raising money for cancer research is not just a good idea or a nice thing to do, it is the main passion in Paul's life.
In November 2007, Paul withstood a six-hour surgery to remove much of his liver in hopes of reducing the amount of cancer in his body, thus increasing the ability of the tumor-starving drug Gleevec to do its job. Gleevec was first used to treat GIST patients by Dana-Farber oncologist and leading GIST specialist, Dr. George Demetri. It took nearly four months for Paul to recover from the surgery, which was far more time than he'd mentally allotted.
Today, his body remains free of disease. Though experts expect Gleevec to stop working at some point, it is Paul's hope and the hope of anyone who has ever met or spoken with Paul, that before the drugs cease to extend life, cancer researchers will have created another treatment or cure for GIST.
In the meantime, he is training for the 2008 New York Marathon, and he's gathered up a cycling posse to ride with him and 5,500 other cyclists on August 2 and 3 in the 2008 PMC. By riding in last year's event, Paul's Posse raised $500,000 that was earmarked specifically for Dr. Demetri's research at Dana-Farber. They even got Dr. Demetri to ride with them, and now he's hooked, too. Demetri and his daughter will join Paul's Posse in the 2008 ride.
Paul is facing his treatment as he does his career. He is remaining positive and powerful. "I am upbeat and I keep doing what I'm doing," he says. "They said I am doing more than 95 percent of healthy people do, let alone those who are battling cancer. I guess that's a good point." He refers to himself as a Cancer Thriver, not as a cancer "survivor" as is the typical lingo, which he says sounds like someone washed up on the beach.
About the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge
The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, an annual bike-a-thon, is a pioneer of the athletic fundraising industry and today raises more money for charity than any other single event in the country. In 2007, the PMC raised $33 million, and, since 1980, it has raised more than $204 million for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund. The PMC is a model of fundraising efficiency. In 2007, the PMC donated 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to the cause. The PMC generates half of the Jimmy Fund's annual revenue, and it is Dana-Farber's single largest contributor. More than 230,000 individual contributions were made in last year's fundraising campaign. This year's goal is to raise $34 million. The PMC is sponsored by the Boston Red Sox Foundation and Overstock.com. For more information about the PMC, visit pmc.org or call 800-WE-CYCLE.
Contact
Jackie Herskovitz
Teak Media
(617) 269-7171
jackie@pmc.org
