WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon

Sox' outfielder Mookie Betts joins Glenn, Lou, and Christian to discuss the work his team does with the Jimmy Fund as well as share some fun baseball anecdotes.

Madie met OMF when they visited the Jimmy Fund Clinic earlier this summer.

In 2016, Madie went to the doctor after having a fever and chills. It was there that her tumor was discovered. Madie was in treatment for a year but relapsed in February 2018 after being off treatment for about a year. She’s received 7 cycles of IV chemotherapy thus far, a total of 12 cycles altogether, and had some radiation in May 2018.

Madie's hobbies include doing makeup, photography, sports, reading and blogging. In the future, Madie wants to become a travel nurse or oncologist.

She is currently writing a blog on Instagram to help other kids going through cancer or hard times find support. She loves sharing her experiences in the goal of helping others. 

Madie is supported by her loving family, including her mom, Deanna, step-dad, Chad, brother, Brodie, 7, and sister, Mackenzie, 19.

In June 2017, Brody had had strep throat for a month and antibiotics were not working. Brody was taken to the hospital for fluids, while his mother left his four other siblings at home--she thought it would take just a quick IV.  The ER doctors did a routine blood test and found results that "couldn't be right."  They needed to see a blood specialist in Boston and took an ambulance straight from the ER. From there, Brody did not leave the hospital for 30 days. 

His treatment has included 27 months of chemotherapy. At least 20 lumbar punctures with intra-catheter chemotherapy. 

His family includes his siblings, Conor (13), Taylor (12), Madison (8), and Piper (6).

Brody's hobbies include building with Legos, doing all kinds of sports, and playing with anything superhero and Star Wars.

This September, Brody will enter pre-kindergarten.

What is special about the Jimmy Fund: The Clinic is the most amazing place.  Everyone at the Clinic knows us by name, which makes us feel special and like friends. While I wish that we did not have to go to the clinic, there is something so comforting in being surrounded by people who understand what we are going through.  They get it.

From Brody’s mom - People do not realize that cancer takes over every aspect of your life, physically and emotionally.  It's not just the big things like going in for treatment.  It takes over all the small moments too.  At a cookout, you must worry that there aren't any gloves at the buffet because germs can cause major illness.  You sit and watch the buns or the chips to see if people are touching them with bare hands. It affects siblings.  They lose time with parents and quickly take the backseat. They are forced to learn that cancer comes first. Events are missed. Someone else feeds them dinner at night, sometimes every night. They become caretakers. Even our family pet was affected with fewer walks and increased anxiety. Nobody asks for cancer. I didn't think I would have to deal with cancer until I did...nobody gets that part at all. It just happens for no reason.

Allie Young felt a lump in her breast while breastfeeding her infant son earlier this year. She was subsequently diagnosed with HER-2 positive breast cancer.

Allie went to Dana-Farber where her treatment has included surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiation. Allie has been in treatment for seven months so far, and she has another 7 months of targeted antibody therapy to complete.

Through her treatment, Allie has had husband Seamus, daughters Reagan, who is almost 5, and 3-year-old Caroline, and 11-month-old son Owen by her side. The hardest part of cancer and treatment for Allie has been worrying about the impact on her kids and balancing the need to care for herself while still being a mother and wife. 

Allie loves being outside and active with her family. They love to hike, ski, swim, sightsee and take advantage of all Boston and New England has to offer.

Allie works as a stock trader for a mutual fund company.

In March, Madison had repetitive sinus and ear infections and long-term abdominal pain. Her pediatrician decided to conduct blood work and found abnormal results. Further tests and procedures confirmed that Madison had leukemia.

Her treatment has consisted of many different rounds of chemotherapy, steroids, bone marrow biopsies, and lumbar punctures.

Madison's family includes her mother, Julie, 38, father, Chris, 39, and sister, Kennedy, 6.

Madison is a rising junior at East Bridgewater Junior Senior High School. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with her friends and family.

Her favorite part of the Jimmy Fund Clinic is hanging out with the nurses. She also loves Dr. Place for his sense of humor throughout her treatment.

Dr. Place specializes in the treatment of childhood leukemia and lymphoma.  Dr. Place is also a clinical investigator studying novel targeted therapies in relapsed acute leukemia.

He is a nationally recognized clinical trialist in pediatric oncology and serves on leadership committees of several large consortia including the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium, the Therapeutic Advances in Childhood Leukemia Consortium and the Children’s Oncology Group. 

Dr. Place is also the Chief Medical Officer of the Institutional Centers for Clinical and Translational Research at Boston Children’s Hospital. 

Dr. Place earned his MD and PhD degrees at Dartmouth College prior to completing his Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  Dr. Place joined the Pediatric Hematology/Oncology faculty in 2012.