WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon

Kelley was on Radio-Telethon in 2008 and in 2009. In 2009, she sang God Bless America during the game! While playing soccer her freshman year of high school, Kelley took a ball pretty hard to the stomach. Over the next 2 months she had extreme, persistent rib pain but x-rays did not show any breaks or fractures. Kelley became pale, lost interest in doing the things she loved, and was sleeping all the time. Eventually, Kelley was diagnosed at the age of 15 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). She underwent 2 years of intense chemotherapy and completed treatment in summer 2009. Kelley was so inspired by her care team at the Jimmy Fund Clinic that she decided to be a nurse. She graduated from Saint Anselm College in 2014. She is now a registered nurse at Boston Children's and takes care of pediatric cancer patients. Kellie says treating patients like herself is incredible and she could not imagine doing anything else. She was so thankful for her nurses when she was a patient because they treated her like a normal 15-year- old-girl and not a cancer patient. They brought feelings of comfort, safety and optimism – and she says to be able to give that to families and children who are fighting the same battle she did is so humbling. Kelly is a self-described huge beach bum, and enjoys being active outside.

MLB Umpire Joe West joins Rich Keefe and Joe Castiglione to discuss his struggles with throat cancer.  Joe recalls going through radiation treatment, but was fortunate enough to be able to avoid chemotherapy.  Joe then offers a special deal to the first 4 families with a child or two under the age of 14 who donate at least 2,500 dollars an opportunity to come down to home plate for the umprie and coaches meeting before the Red Sox game when Joe comes to town.

Debbie Palermo joins Rich Keefe and Joe Castiglione to reflect on the life of her late husband Steve Palermo, a former MLB Supervising Umpire.  Steve Palermo died of cancer earlier this year on Mother's Day at the age of 67.  Recognized as a hero after being shot during an attempt to break up a mugging in Dallas, Steve Palermo was admired by so many people across the country.  Debbie discussed Steve's life as an MLB umpire and the trip they took to the Dana-Farber Center in order to confirm his cancer diagnosis.

Dr. Hal Burstein joins Rich Keefe and Joe Castiglione to discuss the major advancements that have been made over the years in order to better diagnose and treat different forms of women's cancers, especially breast cancer.  Dr. Burstein explains the importance of the Jimmy Fund to all of the men and women who fight against these dangerous diseases and the doctors that do everything they can to help each one of their patients beat whatever cancer they may face.

Jen was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma at the age of 19 after slamming her finger in a car door and convincing an ER doctor to look at a lump she had after previous doctors had suggested it to be nothing.  She recieved treatment and then was rediagnosed shortly before her 21st birthday.  After being rediagnosed she had surgery and was forced to remain in isolation for 100 days in order to avoid the risk of infection.

Paul was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer, in February 2015. A small lump that his doctors told him was nothing to be concerned about eventually turned into a much bigger lump that had to be surgically removed. Doctors initially informed Paul and his family that the lump was benign, but they were mistaken. Paul’s doctors called him back a week later and informed him that they were wrong and that it was in fact a very rare form of cancer called Rhabdomyosarcoma. Paul had two difficult surgeries to try and remove his visible tumors but was told he needed further treatment.

Larry is a two-time cancer survivor. In 1985, when he was vice president and general counsel of the Baltimore Orioles, Lucchino was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at age 40. He received chemotherapy and an autologous bone marrow transplant at Dana-Farber. Then in 1999, Lucchino was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and underwent surgery at Johns Hopkins to remove the cancerous tissue. Larry has experienced the Jimmy Fund/Red Sox partnership from both sides—as a patient and as a part of the Red Sox. This is Larry’s second year at the chairman of the Jimmy Fund.

Caeleigh was diagnosed on New Year's Eve, 2016. She is a competitive swimmer and noticed some bruising on her legs. She also had a high fever. She went to the ER and was ultimately diagnosed with acute promyeloid leukemia, a very rare form of pediatric leukemia. She has received daily chemotherapy treatments for several months. She hopes to be in remission by Halloween. In addition to swimming, Caeleigh enjoys soccer, biking, triathlons, reading and spending time with her friends. Caeleigh's uncle is a pediatric hematologist neurologist who used to work at Dana-Farber. Caeleigh has three sisters: Micaela, 10, Quinlan, 8, and Caitlin, 6.

JD appeared on the 2015 Radio-Telethon. JD originally thought he had a hernia when he was experiencing groin pain. He went to the emergency room and was eventually diagnosed with testicular cancer at the age of 29. He had surgery to treat the cancer, but it came back 6 months later and had spread to his chest and lungs. When doctors wanted to delay treating the metastasized cancer, Daige came to Dana-Farber for a second opinion. His team started chemotherapy right away and eventually JD had 7 had other procedures to treat his cancer, including operations that removed one-third of his right lung and 10 percent of his left lung. During treatment, he had a bicycle brought into his hospital room on his first day of chemotherapy. Daige served in Iraq in the U.S. Army Reserves. He is currently a police officer in Worcester. He started a non-profit called Thin Blue Ride that helps police families and military families when they get diagnosed with cancer. He likes to travel, ski, surf, hockey, rock climb and golf. He rides the PMC. JD is celebrating 3 years being cancer-free this month. JD shares his story with the hope to help others going through tough situations.