WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon

Red Sox Hall of Famer Reggie Smith visits with Joe Castiglione and Tim Neverett during the bottom of the 2nd inning Tuesday night as part of the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon.

In the fall of 2014, Kinzie began having symptoms such as belly pain that worsened through spring 2015. In July 2015, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancer of nerve cells. Her treatment has included chemotherapy and radiation. She has been in remission for more than 9 months to date. Kinzie comes from a large family with 7 siblings. Kinzie and her family went on a Make-a-Wish trip in February, where they got to swim with dolphins! In her spare time, she enjoys swimming, softball, and soccer, along with painting and drawing.

Alexis was on a business trip at the beginning of 2017 when she felt some pain in her left breast. She didn’t think much of it, as she had just had a doctor’s appointment a few weeks prior, at which everything was completely normal. After experiencing this pain, she went for an ultrasound which eventually led to a diagnosis of stage 4 breast cancer. Alexis came to see Dr. Ann Partridge who runs Dana-Farber’s young women with breast cancer program. Alexis went through 18 rounds of chemotherapy, which while difficult, has not been the most challenging aspect of the disease. The mental aspect has been very challenging – she feels and looks like a different person. Alexis went through 18 rounds of chemotherapy and Alexis has also enrolled in a clinical trial of a targeted drug that inhibits one of the molecular pathways that tumors use to grow. Alexis is a native of Ipswich. She lives in Boston now and works in finance as a national account manager. Today, Alexis is feeling great.

Dr. Partridge can speak to the challenges young women with breast cancer (under 40 years old) face.

Jo appeared on the 2016 Radio-Telethon. Jo was diagnosed in March 2015 with pancreatic cancer that metastasized to her liver and lymph nodes. She was having stomach pains for a couple of months, and when the pain got severe, she went to the doctor and then to the emergency room where they discovered a tumor in her pancreas. Jo came to Dana-Farber after discovering its superior reputation for treating pancreatic cancer – plus, her daughter lives in the Boston area and could help with treatment. Jo had surgery and then radiation and is now receiving chemotherapy. She flies to Boston from Michigan every other week for treatment for two days at a time. Jo is retired from Detroit Public Television.  Currently, she's deputy clerk of Eagle Harbor Township, Michigan, and involved in the election process for that district. She is an active volunteer including vice-chair of a committee to build a new fire and emergency services facility as well as assist in the organization of an annual dogsled race!  Jo's hobbies include softball, photography and skiing. She is married to her husband Terry and has one daughter.

Dr. Meyerhardt can speak to advances in Gastrointestinal cancers (GI), specifically pancreatic cancer, which is very difficult to treat.  Most patients are diagnosed with late stage disease. Besides treating patients, Dr. Meyerhardt is also an active researcher in Diet and Lifestyle Studies in Patients with Colorectal Cancer. Dr. Meyerhardt studies have included research showing Colon cancer patients who eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, poultry and fish can significantly lower the risk of their cancer returning.

Seniors Sales Operations Manager of AT&T Warren Davis joins Dale, Holley and Rich Keefe on day two of the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon.

JJ was diagnosed in December 2013. He drove himself to the hospital at 4 am with extreme pain, and an inability to eat or sleep. A CT scan found that his lymph nodes were enlarged to the size of baseballs between his organs, putting pressure and pain on his back. He also had been losing weight and they found cancer in his lungs, his heart was only working at 30%. JJ is currently undergoing radiation for treatment. He has had two bone marrow transplants, 18 months of chemotherapy and now, radiation. JJ chose Dana-Farber because he says “their technology and knowledge exceeds anywhere in this world to help fight this ugly monster of cancer.” He enjoys playing sports, especially baseball and softball, and coaching kids. He has pitched twice at Fenway Park when he was playing for UMASS baseball team. JJ works typically 7 days a week on transmission lines. He says it’s pretty intense, dangerous, and a thrill. What helps JJ to stay positive is to think “someone has it worse”.

Dr. Antin treats patients like JJ who's only hope of cure or survival might be a stem cell transplant. Stem cell transplants are used to restore the stem cells when the bone marrow has been destroyed by disease, chemotherapy (chemo), or radiation. Stem cells are in the blood and bone marrow--they are young immature cells that turn into blood cells. Some patients with certain types of cancer benefit from a stem cell transplant--after their unhealthy cells are destroyed by chemo and radiation, they are replaced by either their own cells harvested at an earlier time or by those of a sibling or even a stranger. Dr. Antin can speak about the strides made in this technology thanks to research and about what has become new in this field over the past 10 years.

Tara was first diagnosed with ALL in 2009 and after two years of chemotherapy, she finished treatment in 2011. In July 2012, Tara relapsed while she was attending Stonehill College, July 2012. She underwent 29 months of chemotherapy. In August 2016 at age 24, Tara relapsed again, and completed 4 months of chemo and 5 days of radiation before undergoing a bone marrow transplant. Tara's hobbies include writing, reading, cooking, sports and video games. She is currently a senior analyst in marketing operations at Digitas in Boston. Tara says “the past eight and a half years have been a long haul for not only me, but everyone who’s important to me. Despite all of that, I don’t think I’d trade it for anything. My cancer has taken a lot of experiences from me, but has given me experiences back, ten-fold, including experiences like these. The nurses, doctors, staff, everyone at the Jimmy Fund have been monumental in giving me those experiences and helping to make each and every day possible. Without some of the research done there, I wouldn’t be alive. That’s something that hit me hard, especially with my most recent diagnosis."

Sean was a healthy and robust boy until the summer he turned ten; that was when Sean’s battle with gliomatosis cerebri began. Sean was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after being admitted into the hospital for seizures during a family vacation in Rhode Island. Unlike most solid tumors, this rare tumor grows like a spider web. The tumor’s rarity, presentation and cancerous threads made an accurate and expedient diagnosis challenging for Sean’s medical team. Dr. Peter Manley of Dana-Farber advised the Jucha family they would treat Sean very aggressively. Sean responded well to the treatment with no disease progression for almost 2 years. At just about the 2-year mark, Sean developed headaches again and his next scan showed the disease was progressing. Dr. Manley then tried "targeted therapy" for Sean's tumor. Unfortunately, this did not work and Sean's tumor continued to progress. Dr. Manley still did not give up and Sean started radiation and chemotherapy again. Sean responded to this treatment and he continued to go to school, play sports and live a normal life. Sean never let his disease get him down, nor did he ever complain. Several months later, Sean began having new symptoms of dizziness and trouble walking.  A new scan showed Sean had a new tumor in his cerebellum which was affecting all his motor skills. He started falling frequently at school. Again, Dr. Manley didn't give up on Sean – he pulled out all the stops and tried to enroll him in multiple clinical trials and was able to set him up once again with additional radiation to his cerebellum. Dr. Manley was very honest with the family and informed them this was only palliative treatment, but it was something he pursued so their family could continue to have time with their precious son. Sean passed away on August 28, 2016, 3 years after his diagnosis. Sean was a huge Red Sox fan and attended many games. He has a younger brother Ryan.

Former Red Sox outfielder Johnny Damon joins Dale, Holley and Rich Keefe on day two of the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio Telethon.

Christopher Walsh can still remember the day he found a suspicious lump on his groin. He immediately went to the doctor to have the lump biopsied, and results confirmed that Chris had non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was diagnosed in June 2015, and immediately decided to go to Dana-Farber because he wanted “the best to take care of it.” As the cancer began to get a bit more complicated, Dr. Davids started Chris on a clinical trial involving chemotherapy a targeted gene therapy. That treatment has not worked to satisfaction, so Chris is now launching into a newer form of treatment: immunotherapy. 

He has been married for almost 33 years and has 2 adult children. He is a state legislator representing the 6th Middlesex district in Framingham. Prior to that, he served as an architect for 30 years. Chris says that one of the things that has been incredible is the community support he has experienced. He had a few reservations about publicly coming out with this cancer, but given his role in the community, he did so and he has found that people appreciate the process and struggles he has endured. He has ultimate confidence in Dana-Farber’s continued fight for a cure. 

After obtaining an A.B. in chemistry at Harvard College, Dr. Davids completed his M.D. at Yale University School of Medicine. He served as an intern, resident, and assistant chief resident in internal medicine at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. He then completed his fellowship in hematology and oncology in Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare, and a Masters in Medical Science (MMSc) at Harvard Medical School.

He is an attending physician in the Lymphoma Program of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at Dana-Farber, an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and is the Associate Director of the Dana-Farber CLL Center.