Framingham resident, Jennifer Miceli, registered for the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai to celebrate five years of remission from colon cancer. The event will take place on October 1st, which happens to be Jennifer’s five year anniversary of her remission. “I felt the need to walk this year versus just donating,” Jennifer explains. “I have always donated (even before my diagnosis) but when I saw it fell on my five year cancer free anniversary date, I knew I had to walk.”
“Due to the amount of polyps I still get each year, I am very high risk for return,” Jennifer says. “They are not flipping me to ‘cured’ status due to this, so I want to honor myself for making it this far and honor the people that unfortunately didn’t make it this far.”
Jennifer hopes to raise $1,500 this year. You can find out more about her story here. “The Walk to me is to get people together that all have one thing in common and can all relate in one way or another,” Jennifer says. “Whether it’s someone that has personally had cancer or has been affected by it. It is a way for everyone to become one to fight a cause that everyone can relate to.”
Defying cancer to Jennifer means never letting it dictate her life. “As sick as I was I still got up and fought through and never let it stop me. If I let it stop me including my day to day activities, then I let it win.”
The 2023 Jimmy Fund Walk will take place on Sunday, October 1, and raises funds to support all forms of adult and pediatric patient care and cancer research at the nation’s premier cancer center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Whether participating for themselves, loved ones, neighbors, or co-workers, each walker shares a common purpose: to defy cancer and support breakthroughs that will benefit cancer patients around the world.
Participants have the flexibility to choose from four distance options: 5K walk (from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Longwood Medical campus), 10K walk (from Newton), Half Marathon walk (from Wellesley) or Marathon walk (from Hopkinton). Walkers can also participate virtually by “walking their way” from wherever they are most comfortable—whether that be in their neighborhood, on a favorite hiking trail, or on a treadmill at home.
The Jimmy Fund Walk has raised more than $167 million for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in its 34-year history. The 2023 Walk will be held during the Jimmy Fund’s 75th anniversary year and will aim to raise $9 million in the effort to prevent, treat, and defy cancer. To register for the Walk (#JimmyFundWalk) or to support a walker, visit www.JimmyFundWalk.org or call (866) 531-9255.