Swim Across America Nantucket Brings Cancer Care to Island

Swim Across America Nantucket event directors Jill Roethke and Jim Pignato are helping to keep cancer care local on Nantucket. The very first Swim Across America Nantucket swim took place back in 1991, but it wasn’t until Swim Across America’s 25th anniversary in 2012, that the swim came back to the island on an annual basis and Jill and Jim participated. It was at that time that they were asked to become the co-event directors, and in 2013, Swim Across America Nantucket became an annual event with Jill and Jim leading. Now for the past nine years, Jill and Jim have helped the charity swim raise more than $3.4 million to support on-island cancer treatment and patient care at Nantucket Cottage Hospital and Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket. The charity swim has been a game-changer for Nantucket residents as it brought cancer care directly to the island, where before patients had to travel to the mainland for treatment.

“As a result of the Swim Across America Nantucket event, patients now receive treatments and see world-class oncologists on-island at the Swim Across America Infusion Center, instead of having to travel to the mainland for these services. It has made a huge difference for those facing cancer on Nantucket,” said Jill Roethke, co-event director of the Swim Across America Nantucket swim.
Funds raised by the Swim Across America Nantucket event allows island cancer patients to receive oncology services at Nantucket Cottage Hospital (NCH) rather than the mainland, saving them from burdensome and expensive travel while undergoing cancer treatment. With the collaboration between the Mass General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center and NCH's oncology department, patients are able to receive an academic level of care in a rural community hospital. The MGH link brings access to breakthrough, state of the art technologies, drug therapies and clinical trials, that would not be available to a rural community hospital. The program also brings a team of cancer specialists to the island every week for patient consultations. In addition, a board certified advanced practice oncology registered nurse is on-site to see cancer patients five days a week. Services, including chemotherapy, are performed at the Swim Across America Infusion Center at NCH.

In addition to the on-island cancer treatments now available, thanks to Swim Across America Nantucket, the event also provides funding for the Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket Program. This program provides direct care and services to patients and families who are coping with cancer. Care is provided through a nurse practitioner, a part time APRN oncology nurse practitioner, palliative care counselors, social workers, program assistant, chaplain, medical director, and volunteers, and is provided in any setting. Cancer support groups are also conducted twice/month. Services are provided free of charge and are fully supported through donations and grants. PASCON staff works directly with the NCH oncology staff to ensure the needs of all patients are being met.

Jill and Jim’s involvement with Swim Across America stems from personal experience with family members who were impacted by cancer. Jim first got involved with Swim Across America in 1991 at a swim clinic run by Swim Across America national. Jim’s mother is a 20+ year breast cancer survivor and he lost his father to a five-year battle with colon cancer in 2013. At the 2012 25th anniversary swim on Nantucket that brought the two co-event directors together, Jill was participating in the event in honor of her husband Steve, who had recently been diagnosed with Stage 3 melanoma. After that year, Jill and Jim knew they wanted to get more involved with the Swim Across America organization and jumped on board to make Swim Across America Nantucket an annual event. Almost ten years and $3.4 million later, the two have been instrumental in the cancer landscape on Nantucket Island.

“Having family members that have endured cancer treatments, we know first-hand how important it is to have treatment options close to home,” said Jim Pignato, co-event director of the Swim Across America Nantucket swim. “We are so proud to have been able to raise enough funds these past ten years to support on-island cancer care and bring local residents and seasonal residents the peace of mind to know they can be taken care of locally, while still receiving gold-standard care.”

Founded in 1987 and celebrating 35 years of #makingwaves to #fightcancer this year, Swim Across America is a national nonprofit organization that holds 25 open water swims across the country, from Boston to under the Golden Gate Bridge. The organization has an interesting history as it started with a sunken boat in Long Island Sound at its first-ever open water swim and has turned its passion for swimming and fighting cancer into $100 million that supports crucial cancer research throughout the country. Swim Across America funding has contributed to four FDA approved life-saving immunotherapy treatments: Yervoy, Opdivo, Tecentriq and Keytruda, and supports research with more than 60 scientific grants funded each year. In June of this year, very exciting news about a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was published in The New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment produced by GlaxoSmithKline. The clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was funded by early-stage grant funding from Swim Across America.

More than 60 scientific grants are funded each year by Swim Across America and there are ten dedicated Swim Across America Labs at major institutions including: Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, John Hopkins Medicine Baltimore, Rush University Medical Center Chicago, Baylor Scott & White Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York, Nantucket Cottage Hospital, Palliative and Supportive Care of Nantucket, Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Lounge at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and San Francisco and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. More than 120 Olympians support Swim Across America, including Michael Phelps, Craig Beardsley (who is being inducted into the International Swimmer’s Hall of Fame this fall), Donna De Varona, Rowdy Gaines, Janel Jorgensen McArdle, Bobby Hackett, Ryan Lochte, Glenn Mills and many more.

In honor of Swim Across America’s 35th anniversary, the organization is showcasing “35 Stories of Impact” throughout its decades with a special website at swimacrossamerica.org/35. Jill Roethke & Jim Pignato are one of the “35 Stories of Impact” profiled.

To learn more about Swim Across America Nantucket Open Water Swim or to register to swim, volunteer or donate for the July 23rd open water swim, visit swimacrossamerica.org/nantucket.

About Swim Across America
Swim Across America, Inc. (SAA) is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events. With the help of hundreds of volunteers nationwide and past and current Olympians, Swim Across America is helping find a cure for cancer through athleticism, community outreach and direct service. To learn more visit swimacrossamerica.org/nantucket or follow on Facebook or Instagram @SAAnantucket or email Jill at jill@swimacrossamerica.org or Jim at jimp@swimacrossamerica.org.