Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk is back in-person on October 2nd

Registration is now open for the 2022 Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, which will be held on October 2nd and in-person for the first time in 2 years. For some families who are being treated at Dana Farber, this is the first time they are getting to do the walk. One of those families is the Marzilli family of Wayland.

Little Chloe Marzilli has a lot of friends, in fact, she has a whole ‘Sunshine Squad’ supporting her on Instagram. When Chloe was just 6-years-old she was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of muscle cancer.

“We had found a lump in her thigh, like just out of nowhere, a healthy kid, no issues, no problems, and we found this lump and we started, you know, the tests and all these things and finding out that, you know, it was of concern. And then had gone to the Jimmy Fund and they presented this 42-week plan,” Chloe’s mother Courtney Marzilli told our Mark Ockerbloom that her little girl with the big smile started her treatment on her 7th birthday. When talking about the people at the Jimmy Fund, Marzilli said, “I mean they are literally everything to you. Not only are they your medical team, but they’re your support, they are the people you can email with anything.” Marzilli went on to say, “You know I continuously say they’re an extension of our family. I mean it’s very quick that you are comfortable and you feel safe with these people and it’s an incredible feeling in a situation that’s probably the scariest thing you know you’ll ever face. Not only as a kid, but as a parent too.” This past November, Chloe finished her 42-week protocol and has been in ‘maintenance’ since December. She celebrated her eighth birthday last month. With her treatment more manageable, Chloe, her family and her ‘Sunshine Squad’ are looking forward to walking in her first Jimmy Fund Walk in October.

“Patients like Chloe and all of our patients are dealt such difficult hands and there’s only so many ways that you and I and people out in the community can help. And being able to walk and raise money is probably the best way that you can honor these folks and so for us, it’s just a pleasure to be able to provide an opportunity, provide and outlet for folks that are looking for one,” said Walk Director Zach Blackburn. “No dollar, donated or raised there is going to something that’s no amazing so I would say, do it, donate, it’s just something I can’t even express you know our gratitude to this institution.”

Boston 25 News is a proud partner of the Jimmy Fund Walk. If you want to sign up to walk in the 2022 Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, go to www.jimmyfundwalk.org. To donate to Chloe’s Sunshine Squad’s Jimmy Fund Walk team, click here.

To learn about the Dana-Farber campaign, click here.

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