PEABODY — For Red Sox fans, Tuesday’s long-awaited home opener at Fenway Park is worth celebrating. The Sox will honor last year’s World Series championship team while starting a new season of Fenway baseball.
For Peabody’s Liam Slattery, Boston’s home opener presents a chance to give back to a worthy cause that saved his life. In 2015, Slattery was diagnosed with hepatosplenic T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He was treated at Dana-Farber’s Jimmy Fund Clinic. Now cancer free, Slattery takes pride in paying it forward.
“I’m very appreciative of Dana-Farber,” said Slattery, 24. “They saved my life. Whenever they ask me to do anything, I’m willing to do so. Anything they need. I try to stay involved as much as I can to give back a little bit.”
Leading up to Tuesday’s home opener, Slattery worked with the Jimmy Fund in spreading the word about “Rally Against Cancer,” and is this year’s “Rally Against Cancer” patient partner.
Red Sox fans are encouraged to start a “Rally Against Cancer” team by partnering with schools and/or workplaces. Rally “team leaders” are tasked with encouraging co-workers/classmates to donate $10 or more to the Jimmy Fund. In exchange, donors may wear Red Sox gear on Tuesday in celebration of Fenway’s opening game.
“I’m just hoping as much money for the Jimmy Fund can be raised as possible,” Slattery said. “Just things like money for parents making trips back and forth from the hospital. Things like that are needed. They need as much money as they can to help make patients’ lives better.”
Slattery isn’t new to rallying against cancer. He spoke at this year’s rally kick-off at Fenway Park in February and appeared in a commercial promoting the cause earlier this week.
“Over the years I was at Dana-Farber, sometimes multiple times a week,” Slattery said. “I got to know everyone in the organization really well. When they needed patients to represent them, I think they knew me really well so it was a good fit.”
Slattery underwent a bone marrow transplant in December 2015. His older sister, Elizabeth, was the donor. He was declared cancer free that month.
An avid Red Sox fan, Slattery has thrown the first pitch at a Red Sox game and rode a duck boat during the team’s World Series victory parade last October.
“The Red Sox do great things for the Jimmy Fund,” Slattery said. “They’re very involved. I did a Jimmy Fund trip to Spring Training, I’ve been to a few games. The Red Sox do whatever they can to help out.”
He has also participated in the Dana-Farber Cancer Walk and the Jimmy Fund Telethon.
A St. John’s Prep graduate, Slattery’s currently pursuing a nursing degree at nearby Salem State. His goal is to find a career in oncology.
“Things are going well,”he said. “I like the school. I did a year of online and now this is my first year of being in the classroom, in person. I like all the professors, they’re really nice. It’s a good fit.
“Before cancer, I kind of always wanted to work somewhere in medicine. I wasn’t sure where exactly with medicine. Through treatment and everything, I made the final decision over the last few years.”
Three of the top fundraising schools and companies this season will receive special visits from Red Sox players as a prize. Teams can use the hashtag #RallyAgainstCancer on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to post photos and updates leading up to Opening Day.
Since 2006, Rally Against Cancer has raised more than $6.5 million. This year’s program aims to raise more than $750,000. To start a Rally Against Cancer team or to donate, please visit www.RallyAgainstCancer.org.
