Lahey Cancer Institute 5K Raises $279K For Patient Resources

BEVERLY, MA — Cancer patients and their families at Beverly Hospital and Lahey Medical Center of Peabody are among the beneficiaries of the more than $279,000 raised during the Lahey Cancer Institute 5K Walk & Run held in Burlington on June 11.

More than 1,250 people participated in the event designed to raise money to fund services and resources, as well as celebrate cancer survivors, remember those lost and highlight care providers.

In its 17 years, the event has raised nearly $4 million to benefit the programs and initiatives across the five Lahey Cancer Institute hospitals and outpatient treatment facilities, which include Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington; Lahey Medical Center, Peabody; Beverly Hospital; Addison Gilbert Hospital, Gloucester; and Winchester Hospital.

"At Lahey Cancer Institute, caring for our patients and providing them with the best possible outcomes is our highest priority," said Paul J. Hesketh, Director of Lahey Cancer Institute and of the Sophia Gordon Cancer Center and Thoracic Oncology at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington. "Lahey Cancer Institute enables access to novel therapies, clinical trials, collective expertise and second opinions with national health care leaders, allowing patients to receive comprehensive care from our integrated team in the community."

Sixty-six teams participated in the event with the top fundraising teams being the Cancer Crusaders, Jean's Angels, Team True North, Radiate Love and Team Suppor Squad.

Judy Lamarre of Jean’s Angels was the top individual fundraiser, collecting $20,092 for the cause.

The top male and female finishers were Frank May of Somerville and Erica Morin of West Newton. The top male and female cancer survivor runners were Winston Ho of Norwood and Sara O'Brien of Billerica.

"We are thankful to all of our participants, health care providers, donors and sponsors for making this annual community event a huge success and advancing the care we are able to provide our patients and their families," Hesketh said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)