Needhamite trains for bike-a-thon while battling cancer

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Pamela Chen no longer wants to know the odds, because she has already beaten them. Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer almost a year ago, Chen outlived her doctors’ expectations and is training to ride 84 miles in the two-day Pan-Massachusetts Challenge bike-a-thon in August, despite still living with the terminal illness.

“On August 4, I’ll be on that bike, even if they might have to put me on a truck and take me to the finish line,” Chen said.

Her training has been a struggle. She has battled the fatigue that comes with chemotherapy and ailments caused by the cancer. Chen said she minimizes the pain medications she takes in order to stay as alert as possible during training. She was recently in the hospital for kidney failure.

“Every day, you don’t know what you’ll get,” she said. “I didn’t know I’ll be alive or not, never mind properly trained. I haven’t been on a bike for a month. It’s catch-up time, now the kidney failure has been addressed.”

Last weekend, Chen got back on the saddle, finally being able to ride her bike and resume that part of her training.

“It’s amazing how good I feel when I get on the bike or run,” Chen said. “It seems to diminish my pain for a while after each workout.”

When in good condition, Chen said she does short rides during the week and takes long bikes on the weekend. She also does weekly strength training and tries to run three times a week.

Chen, who never rode more than 75 miles before, decided she was going to do the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, which raises money for the Jimmy Fund and cancer research, after her friend, Cynthia Null, rode in her honor last year. Null, who is close friends with Chen’s sister, Carolyn Lueders, described the Pan-Massachusetts as a challenge, even for those in good health.

“She’s such a trooper,” said Null, who is riding in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge for the 14th year. “In many ways, the Pan-Mass is the dessert. The work is the hours and hours and days and days of training. It’s the same type of challenge cancer gives her. It is a day-to-day grind for [people with cancer] and their families.”

“It planted in my mind that if I live to ride the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge, I’ll do it,” she said. “I want to do this for myself and to give back to Dana-Farber and cancer research.”

Chen, who already reached her fundraising goal of $2,600, said she hopes to raise even more money in order to become one of the “heavy hitters” among riders.

Chen was 41 when she was diagnosed. She never imagined she would face cancer at such a young age, noting that she was highly active and perfectly healthy for most of her life. She unofficially ran the Boston Marathon two short years ago.

She was on a trip to China, where she walked the Great Wall, when she noticed something was wrong.

“I had never been sick my whole life,” she said. “I never had to see the doctor for anything. But I began to feel back, shoulder and abdominal pain. I thought I ate something that threw me off.”

A Needham High School graduate and veterinarian, Chen, who went to Ohio State for veterinary school, called Columbus, Ohio, where she lived for 18 years, her home when she received the very grim diagnosis on July 14 of last year. The doctor said she had pancreatic cancer and gave her six to nine months to live, suggesting she return to Needham to be with her family.

“I grew up here,” she said. “I always thought I’d come back, but not for these reasons.”

Pancreatic cancer is unusual for someone as young as Chen. Fewer than 5 percent of people with the nearly untreatable form of cancer are under the age of 50, said Chen.

“I feel like an anomaly,” Chen said about her visits to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for treatment. “I’m the youngest person there.”

She said there hasn’t been much progress in treating the cancer over the past 10 years and survival rates, as a result, haven’t increased.

“When you have days when you’re really suffering, you ask yourself why,” she said. “Did I eat too much sugar or too many doughnuts? I’d walk around the house saying, ‘This is ridiculous.’”

Chen said she managed to get past those dark moments by finding something to appreciate. While speaking, Chen is typically upbeat, emphasizing the positives in her life. She also still looks healthy.

“What you see is what you get,” said her brother-in-law, Mark Lueders. “She’s always smiling, laughing, even if she’s under a lot of emotional stress. She has such a good sense of humor.”

She said all the old friends in Needham who have reached out to her have touched her.

“Having a lot of love and support from people has been incredible,” said Chen, who meets with cancer support groups. “My ex-boyfriend of 20 years, friends of friends. It’s been surprising how people reach out and let you know they’ve been for you … Love is everything, having faith and gratitude.”

Chen nicknamed her bicycle “Hugh” since she believes her ride is the Hugh Jackman of bikes. She also color-coordinated her equipment in orange to match her shoes. But despite her generally positive attitude, her voice cracks when she recounts her personal struggle coping with the diagnosis.

“The more dark times you hit, the more you realize you climbed out of them before and will climb out of them again,” Chen said.

Chen said living with cancer is like donning a new identity.

“There’s life with cancer and life without cancer,” she said. “It’s about finding out who you are again. The Pan-Massachusetts is part of it, finding out what I can and cannot do.”

Steven Ryan can be reached at sryan@cnc.com.

Those interested in sponsoring Pamela Chen can go to PMC.org. Her e-gift code is PC0138