Nancy Cahillane, of Canton, to participate in Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk

For Nancy Cahillane, 51, of Canton, “Nana” was not a nickname she thought she’d be lucky enough to hear as both of her children were pediatric patients born with an immunodeficieny disorder that predisposes cancer, especially lymphoma. In 1981, her first son, Brian Murphy then nine months old, was diagnosed with Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome, a rare disease that causes a child, usually male, to have a malfunctioning immune system and a reduced ability to form blood clots. For three years, Nancy’s full-time job was to get her son healthy. Their weekly visits to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund Clinic consisted of blood tests, platelet counts and transfusions with a break in between for lunch. It wasn’t until April 1984, just as Brian’s health was on the decline, that he received a lifesaving bone marrow transplant. The donor, Billy, was his father, a perfect match. For the next several months, Brian lived in a bubble, unable to receive many visitors or go anywhere as treatments worked to rebuild his immune system.

Twelve years later, when Nancy’s second child, Stephen, was born, a sample taken from his cord blood confirmed he also had Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome. Consequently, the Cahillanes found themselves walking the halls of the Jimmy Fund Clinic once again, where Stephen was much more sick causing visits with loved ones to be shorter and more controlled. He needed a bone marrow transplant much sooner than his older brother had required and neither his father nor any other family members were a match. The Cahillanes turned to the national marrow registry for help. Just weeks after Stephen’s first birthday, a donor was found and he underwent a bone marrow transplant, forcing him to live in the same environment as Brian had. Thanks to the treatments and care Brian and Stephen received more than a decade ago, Nancy’s sons are alive and healthy today. Brian, now 33, of Stoughton, is a sous chef at Foley’s Backstreet Grille, a popular local restaurant, a loving husband to wife Nicole and the father of a two-year-old healthy and happy girl, Cadence Pearl. Stephen, now 21, of Canton, is following his dream and passion of film and photography trying to break into the industry while also working full time.

Although the 1980’s and 1990’s proved challenging for the Cahillane family, many memories, some good and some bad, were made at the Jimmy Fund Clinic and the staff became like family. For this reason, on Sunday, Sept. 21, Nancy will lace up her sneakers for the first time to participate in the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai. She will be among more than 8,500 people expected to walk in the 26th annual event, to raise more than $7.5 million for the Jimmy Fund for lifesaving adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Nancy will embark on the Wellesley High School 13.1-mile as a member of Team Tara, a new Walk team representing several Canton citizens. Her goal is to raise $500 as a thank you to Dana-Farber for helping to save not one, but both of her sons’ lives.

On the evening of Sept. 21, the Prudential Center and The Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge will glow in red and yellow to mark the 26th annual Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk.

This year’s event will bring the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk’s 26-year fundraising total to more than $100 million. To register for the 26th annual Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai (#JimmyFundWalk) on Sept. 21, or to support a walker, visit www.JimmyFundWalk.org or call (866) 531-9255. Registration is easy and walkers can enter the discount code NEWS for $5 off.