PELHAM – For the Downs family of Pelham, the goal for riding in the Pan-Mass Challenge is to one day see a time when the ride no longer needs to exist.

By raising money to support the Jimmy Fund, their hope is that one day a cure can be found and no other family will have to endure what they went through 10 years ago.

Christine Downs, now a cancer-free college student at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma and leukemia when she was 10 years old.

The doctors in the emergency room told her parents there was nothing that could be done.

But ever since that day, the Downs family has help ed Christine get better and help other children in similar situations Several treatment options were explored at Boston Children’s Hospital, but the Downs’ doctors were coming up short.

Just when their options seemed lost, a doctoral fellow at the hospital told Christine’s father, Andrew, that there was still hope for Christine and they could fight against the disease.

They even went as far as to fly an experimental medication into Children’s Hospital from Europe to help curb the cancer.

Eventually, through chemotherapy, extended hospital stays and optimism, Christine has been cancer free for 10 years and is able to give back to a community that helped her get through tough times.

This summer, Christine is currently preparing for her second Pan-Mass Challenge, while Andrew is training for his sixth.

“Everybody just comes together to fight,” Christine said. “No one is giving up. We’re fighting until we find a cure. It’s what the whole point of the PMC is.”

The Downses will be making the 50-mile loop starting and ending in Wellesley, Mass., on Aug. 5.

It is an event the family looks forward to every year because for at least one weekend out of the year it is an opportunity to work together with others who have experienced such trying times.

Andrew said that every year he rides there’s always someone to share a touching story with, which helps him push through as the miles mount.

“I met this one woman whose husband had cancer and was a survivor,” Andrew said. “We got to talking and sharing stories and I don’t remember the last 15 miles of the ride.”

And for the Downs family, the PMC does more than just celebrate Christine’s health.

It is also directly responsible for Andrew quitting smoking.

He had smoked for 30 years and had quit before.

But after learning of Christine’s diagnosis, Andrew picked up cigarettes again.

Once he learned about the PMC six years ago, he started training and quit cold turkey.

What the family says is most inspiring about the Challenge is the sense of community and camaraderie. Even before the race begins, they make a trip to Foxco, a bike shop in Dracut, Mass., run by Bill Fox, himself a cancer survivor.

“Every year he gives us tires and tubes for the ride,” Andrew said.

Though the first time around, Christine said she had trouble completing the challenge, she said she’s excited to get on her bike again.

As long as there’s still a need for fund raising and a chance to help, she said she plans to offer her assistance any way she can.

“It was difficult to get to the end, but once I did we made sure we all crossed together,” she said. “Right now I’m really excited to go do it again.”