Newton Cancer Survivors to Be Honored at Fenway

Newton, MA – Newtonians and cancer survivors Mark Field and Sidney Kadish will be honored at Fenway on Saturday during a pre-game ceremony before the Red Sox face the Mariners. 

Field and Kadish join a group of 35 Pan-Mass Challenge Living Proof cyclists, all cancer survivors, who will ride their bikes in a parade around the outfield ahead of the unveiling of the PMC logo on the Green Monster.

PMC Day at Fenway kicks off the 37th Pan-Mass Challenge; the ceremony will begin with a duel check presentation featuring the donations from PMC and the Red Sox toward the fight to cure cancer since the Sox became a PMC sponsor in 2003.

Billy Starr, PMC founder and executive director, and Thomas Werner, Red Sox Foundation chairman, will present the checks. 

The event will also feature the national anthem, sung by the children of a PMC rider; a ceremonial first pitch thrown by a cancer survivor; eight-year-old Carter Mock, the "Play Ball Kid"; and a "Hats off to Heroes" celebration honoring an Iraq veteran and cancer survivor.

Here's a look at the ceremony via a media announcement:

National Anthem Singers: Reilly, 18, Alden, 16, and Piper Harring, 13, will harmonize the National Anthem. The Harring family has been involved with the PMC and PMC Kids Rides since 2004. Reilly and Alden rode in the 2015 PMC with their father and their mother, Heidi Harring, a PMC Living Proof rider. This August, Alden will ride alongside her parents, while Reilly and Piper will volunteer in Bourne during ride weekend.

First Pitch: Al Cote, of Stowe, is an original PMC rider. After cycling in the first ride in 1980, Al has been involved with the PMC every year since. He will celebrate the 37th PMC and his lifelong commitment to helping in the fight against cancer by throwing the inaugural first pitch. 

Play Ball Kid: Carter Mock, 8, of Amherst, N.H. will serve as the Play Ball Kid on Saturday. Carter was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2015, and underwent surgery to remove his leg in December. Carter was fitted with his first prosthetic this spring and is already hitting the road on his bicycle. Carter has teamed up with PMC Team Jack as their Pedal Partner, where he’s grown especially close to PMC rider Jack Manning, a cancer survivor who underwent the same treatment and surgery as Carter. 

Hats Off to Heroes: Jonathan “JD” Daige of Worcester, Mass., a two-time Iraq veteran and Worcester Police Officer, will be honored during the game’s Hats Off to Heroes celebration for his military service. JD was diagnosed with testicular cancer four years ago. He then underwent five surgeries and four rounds of radiation and chemotherapy to battle tumors in his chest and brain, as well as the removal of sections of his left and right lungs. In August of 2014, JD received a clean bill of health and returned to work. This August, JD will ride his 2nd PMC alongside his doctor, sergeant and fellow Worcester Police Officers.

On Aug. 6 and 7, more than 6,500 cyclists will ride up to 192 in the Pan-Mass Challenge. This year's fundraising goal is $46 million for Dana-Farber; the PMC has raised $500 million for adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at the center since 1980.

>>>Photo courtesy of Jared Vincent - Originally posted to Flickr as "Fenway-from Legend's Box", CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons