Father’s charity efforts inspire son’s cancer battle

SWAMPSCOTT – Unlike his father, Zak Kraft has not participated in the Pan-Mass Challenge every year since the bicycle ride began.But this summer, he has seen the result of his father’s dedication to the cause.”They have floor-to-ceiling windows in Dana-Farber and I sit there getting chemo and see how this money can help and the way it’s put in use,” Zak Kraft, who is undergoing his last chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma in April, said. “What if they could get to the point where every person gets cancer and has the confidence that I had? I have a 90 percent chance of survival.”Riders in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge have annually traversed the state from Sturbridge to Provincetown since 1980.The bike-a-thon has raised $303 million for cancer research and treatment at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund, according to the event’s website.Last weekend, Barry Kraft, Zak Kraft’s father, completed his 31st ride.”In 1979, Billy [Starr, the organizer of the Pan Mass Challenge] said we’re going to bike from Newton to the Provincetown ferry,” Barry Kraft recalled. “The next year, he said that I’m going to do this for cancer? once you do it, because it’s so well run and so inspirational with people cheering you on and survivors, you don’t stop.”Over the years, Barry Kraft estimated that he has raised $130,000 through the race, and the event has become an annual tradition for his family and his friends.Barry Kraft said that the race is always emotional, as he has several friends and family members who have died from cancer, including a friend who also was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma.”It was a little more emotional for me, for sure, as I passed people and they said ?I’m a survivor,'” Barry Kraft said. “You just know you’re doing the right thing and try to think about the positive part of it.”Zak Kraft, 28, tried the same approach when he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma on April 15.”My mentality has never been to be the victim,” Zak Kraft said. “I never felt that at all. It was, alright, here’s the challenge.”Zak Kraft acknowledged that getting the diagnosis shocked him.”It was surreal – hearing the word chemotherapy and radiation and it applied to me,” Zak Kraft said.Zak said his first call was to his dad. And the Pan-Mass Challenge came to the family’s help.Starr helped organize a conference call with an oncologist at Dana-Farber that weekend. The 28-year-old was in surgery within a week and began chemotherapy on May 1.Following his eighth and final chemotherapy session, he will have three weeks to recuperate before starting a planned 17 days of radiation just after Labor Day.His dad reported proudly that his son was cancer-free and that the doctors were just trying to ensure it didn’t recur.Zak Kraft said he hopes that the radiation goes as well as his current therapy.He’s been receiving his chemotherapy on Fridays, arriving at 7 a.m. to get his blood taken then four different intravenous drugs.He said he leaves feeling pretty drugged, then feels okay over the weekend, but spends the beginning of the week “fairly miserable.””Thursday and Friday I start to call for tee times,” he said, smiling, during a recent interview at the Starbucks in Beverly. “This week, I’ve played six days in a row – I haven’t played that much any summer.”Zak Kraft attributes the confidence in his diagnosis and care as carrying him through the ordeal.”I know it’s the C-word,” he said. “But in October, I’ll be back to where I was? I have to go through five months of this, but then you’re done. Other diseases, you go through your whole life with them.”As for Barry Kraft, he said that his son’s diagnosis and treatment has given added significance to the Pan Mass Challenge.The Dana-Farber has a mural of photos from the different Pan-Mass Challenges that they call the “Bridge to Progress.” The mural includes a picture of Barry Kraft with his son in a car seat.”I was very emotional when I looked at that pi