Who can forget Liam Fitzgerald, of Northborough? He is the adorable boy who stole hearts when he “fist-bumped” the Boston Bruins back in 2014. The pediatric cancer survivor was back in the spotlight with his mother, Christine Fitzgerald, on Thursday, June 16, at a breakfast to kick off the campaign for the 18th annual UMass Medicine Cancer Walk/Run. The event is Sept. 25. MassLive, CharterTV3 and WCVB-TV covered the campaign kickoff.
Fitzgerald shared the story of how Liam, who has Down syndrome, was diagnosed at age 3 with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. She explained how one day he was limping and several days later he could not walk. She credited UMass Memorial Medical Center, where Liam was treated, for its great doctors and cutting-edge research.
“Just knowing that he’s cancer-free is a new lease on life,” Fitzgerald said. “Thinking about what the local community is doing to fight cancer, we want to be a part of that fight.”
Liam, 10, and his mom will participate for the first time in the UMass Medicine Cancer Walk/Run to raise money for cancer research. One hundred percent of the funds go toward supporting clinical trials, research and patient care at UMass Medicine Cancer Center. More than $8 million has been raised since the walk began in 1999. This year, supporters hope to raise an additional $450,000, $30,000 more than last year.
For more info on the UMass Medicine Cancer Walk go to: https://umasscancerwalk.org/.
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