Saluting the Jimmy Fund’s 75th anniversary

 

Despite my previous post today (Aug. 29, 2023), complaining about the Red Sox’ fortunes, I am an unabashed and enthusiastic supporter of the Red Sox when it comes to their unwavering and incredible support for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund.
With the Jimmy Fund WEEI-NESN telethon ongoing today and tomorrow (Aug. 29-30) on both WEEI and NESN --- as well as at Fenway Park --- it’s a pleasure to lend my support to the Jimmy Fund.
Growing up, the Jimmy Fund was always my father Ike’s favorite charity and we never went to Fenway Park without donating money, always saving coins to deposit in the coin boxes that dotted the concourse of the park in the 1960s and 1970s.
I annually support the Jimmy Fund by donating to friends who participate in the Pan-Mass Challenge in August and the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk in October.
But with the telethon occurring now, I thought I’d reprint this column that I wrote 10 years ago this week ---- on Aug. 28, 2013 --- as part of my weekly column for The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA. I was on vacation that week and about to head to Fenway Park with my wife and two daughters during the telethon when Tara Daniels, a newsroom assistant with the newspaper at that time, inspired this column.
God bless the Red Sox for supporting the wonderful work that the Jimmy Fund has been doing for 75 glorious years.
And God bless the dedicated researchers, doctors, nurses and staff who help the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber perform miracles on a daily basis as they work daily to beat this pernicious disease called cancer.
Now, a tribute to someone whom I hope is still a cancer survivor, Tara Daniels.
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Here's the column as it appeared in The Sun Chronicle on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013.
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The headline: An interview with Tara Daniels and why she loves her 'crazy, awesome cancer'
The column: Since I was a kid going to Fenway Park, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's Jimmy Fund has been my favorite charity. My father Ike and I would always put money in the red Jimmy Fund boxes on Fenway's walls.
The Jimmy Fund was started in 1948 by a partnership between the Variety Club of New England and the Boston Braves. The Red Sox adopted the charity in 1953 when the Braves moved to Milwaukee.
Since 2002, the team has participated in the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Telethon. Besides raising a ton of money, that event's strength is its ability to bring home the heartbreak of cancer by relating stories of young patients. One of those survivors sharing her story --- for the third time --- at 5 p.m. on today's second day of the telethon will be Sun Chronicle newsroom assistant Tara Daniels.
Tara, a Stonehill College senior, grew up in Bellingham, graduating from high school in 2010. She's the youngest of Donald and Angela Daniels' four kids --- her older brothers are Craig (32), Jaime (30) and Tim (28). She said the telethon is "where I fell in love with journalism. It ultimately helped me decide both my major and minor in college (communications and journalism)."
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In an email interview, we discussed her battles with cancer, and how the disease has changed her.

How old were you when you were diagnosed? What kind of cancer did you have? How many bouts have you had?
"I was originally diagnosed at 16, when I was a junior in high school on Jan. 21, 2009. I was diagnosed with the most common form of leukemia, ALL, or acute lymphoblastic leukemia. I was considered in remission in February of the same year. With leukemia, however, they've found it's better for keeping the cancer away if they have two years of chemo after you're in remission. So, I finished chemo in February of 2011.
"I was considered cancer free until last summer (2012), when after being sick for almost two months, they found out my cancer was in the early stages of coming back through a bone-marrow biopsy on July 25. I was immediately hospitalized for almost four months and in that time, they again put me in remission (Aug. 31). I have been undergoing chemo treatments since and will continue to do so until early 2015. Technically, my diagnosis has been the same for both times."
What's the toughest part of chemo?
"For me, the toughest part of chemo would be the fact that I can't be 'normal.' For instance, last semester, my immune system was down a lot and there were multiple times that I had to wear surgical masks into class to protect myself from catching the flu or a cold, etc. I got a lot of funny stares and questions ... it was hard for me to not be normal like everyone else. I also get more tired faster, which makes it harder to keep up with the things that everyone else is doing. I've been slowly trying to push myself, however, to build up my endurance."
How long have you been involved with the Jimmy Fund? How did the relationship come about?
"I have proudly been a Jimmy Fund Kid (patient) since the beginning of my diagnosis (for almost five years). I was sent to Children's Hospital in Boston by my general practitioner in 2009 after the preliminary blood tests came back that I had leukemia. Children's Hospital partners with the Jimmy Fund so it was only natural that would be where I go for treatment. When I relapsed, I had already received treatment at the Jimmy Fund, so that's where I went back to."
You and your family have been involved in many charitable endeavors; can you elaborate?
"I have done Relay For Life since my freshman year of high school. In total, I have done 10 Relay events and am currently an event co-chair for the Relay for Life of Stonehill College. This will be my second year in that position. My family also runs the Teeing off for Tara golf tournament, which is held at Crestwood Country Club in Rehoboth. This year is our fourth year doing it. Before this year's fundraising efforts, we have raised over $67,000."
Have you taken trips to spring training with the Jimmy Fund? You've met a number of Red Sox and Bruins players; name some of them.
"I have gone on a few Jimmy Fund trips. I went on two spring training trips to Fort Myers, a trip to Atlanta, and this year we went on a "trip" to Fenway for the Jimmy Fund / Red Sox partnership's 60th anniversary. On those trips I met Ryan Lavarnway, Dustin Pedroia, Clay Buchholz, Mike Carp, David Ortiz, and many more. I also had a Make A Wish granted during my first two years of treatment. My wish was for season tickets to the Bruins. During that time, I met Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The year I had tickets was the year we won the Cup!"

Tara, like so many young cancer patients, has an outlook that should inspire everyone to be more compassionate individuals.
"Despite everything that has happened in my life, I honestly feel so lucky because I've learned a lot of lessons in life much earlier than my peers, and I've also been afforded many opportunities that I most likely wouldn't have otherwise gotten," she said.
"I've met some of my best friends in treatment. One of those friends once said something to me that I'll never forget: 'My cancer isn't a gift because I wouldn't give it to you, but it is a teacher, and it's helped me become the person I am today.
“And that's why I love my crazy, awesome cancer.' "
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This is the link to the column as it appears on The Sun Chronicle's website: https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/kessler-an-interview-with-tara-daniels-and-why-she-loves-her-crazy-awesome-cancer/article_099051c7-70d6-5daa-966e-128f2b5390ce.html