Middlebury Resident to Run Boston Marathon For Great Cause

From MGHfC Pediatric Cancer Team: Jessica Broderick, a Middlebury, Conn. resident, will run in the 123rd Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15, 2019, in support of the MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) Pediatric Cancer Team. Broderick will join an estimated 30,000 runners along the 26.2-mile course from Hopkinton to Boston. The money raised by Broderick and her team will support pioneering research, clinical initiatives and quality of life services including art and music therapy at MGHfC, helping pediatric cancer patients cope emotionally and developmentally with their illnesses.

On race day, I will be thinking about how grateful I am to be healthy and strong, and I will be running for those who aren’t,” says Broderick. “When training gets hard, I always think about the kids, and how I have this opportunity to not only raise money for an amazing cause, but also to run honoring their fighting spirits as they face their individual challenges with their health. Running a marathon takes a lot of courage, but not nearly as much courage as it does to battle cancer as a child. I am so inspired by them and their positive attitudes in the face of adversity.”

Thanks to a partnership with John Hancock, the Fighting Kids’ Cancer...One Step at a Time team is targeting a goal of more than $1,075,000 this year. Participants include former patients and their family members, MGH employees and longtime program supporters. Since 1998, the team has raised more than $14.2 million for care and research.

“So many of us are touched by cancer in some way, but you don’t have to be a caregiver at the bedside to leave an imprint on a child undergoing cancer treatment,” says Howard Weinstein, MD, chief of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at MGHfC and 22-year captain of the pediatric team. “Every year, we see runners step up and become our partners in fighting childhood cancer. Their support is vital to our holistic approach to cancer care and I’m proud to run alongside them on April 15.”

To learn more about the MGHfC Pediatric Cancer Team, visit https://giving.massgeneral.org/boston-marathon/pediatric-cancer-team/.

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