Team Peggs' Fundraising Page

By participating in the 2023 Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai, our team is making every step count toward the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.

Your support goes directly to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s unique 50-50 balance between cutting-edge research and compassionate patient care. Funds raised through the Jimmy Fund Walk enable Dana-Farber leaders to enhance programs and initiatives that serve pediatric and adult patients and their families.

Thank you for supporting our team in the Jimmy Fund Walk. Together, we can defy cancer!

Peggy’s Story 

In March 2022, Peggy (AKA Mom to Erin, Kelly, Valerie, and Adrienne; Gigi to her 11 grandchildren, Bob’s wife, and Aunt Peggy) developed a sore throat that became progressively worse over the course of a month and wisely decided to see a doctor when it didn’t improve.

She ultimately underwent imaging of her thyroid, followed by a biopsy, and then received a call at 5 pm to hear the words that nobody wants to hear:

“Are you sitting down?”

“It’s cancer….a very aggressive form of cancer”

Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer (ATC)

There’s a book about cancer called “Don’t Google It” and we quickly understood why after Peggy was diagnosed with ATC.

If you do Google it, this is what you will likely find:

Rare

Aggressive

Stage IV

Very poor prognosis.

Dana Farber

After several stressful hours of researching ATC and treatment options, we were blessed to find an ATC survivor support group and got connected with a man who is now 3 years out from his diagnosis and thriving after receiving treatment at Dana Farber. We immediately scheduled an appointment there.

 We are so grateful to live 90 miles away from Boston, where our Peggy has gone at least every two weeks since April 2022 for treatment. She has an amazing team, who provide top notch medical care, in addition to showing immense compassion.

Surviving and Thriving

After having her thyroid and 10 lymph nodes removed, a PET scan that revealed a metastasis to her lung, 30 radiation treatments, and 33 rounds of immunotherapy, we are so happy to report that her follow up PET scans have revealed…

No Evidence of Disease (Woohoo!!)

(This means that cancer is no longer showing up in any scans and the spot on her lung disappeared! )

Research at Dana Farber

There is currently no treatment that is FDA approved for ATC since it is so rare.

Peggy was able to receive off-label immunotherapy through one of Dana Farber’s many clinical trials.

Unfortunately, many people do not currently have access to the treatment that is offered at Dana Farber and other Centers of Excellence in managing this rare disease.

We hope that raising awareness of Dana Farber’s groundbreaking work and raising funds for their continued research will result in increased access to life saving cancer treatment.