14th annual Jimmy Fund radio telethon underway

Jim Monaghan
Contributing Writer

Photo courtesy of WEEI
The conversation can begin in a variety of ways. All of them are awkward.

"We need to see you as soon as possible."

"Are you available to come into our office tomorrow?"

"The doctor asked us to give you a call. They've found something."

Your heart skips a beat. Your mind races through a myriad of possibilities. And then you hear it.

"We've found cancer."

Once you hear that, chances are you really don't hear anything that follows. You nod your head and ask some questions but in reality you're not able to listen. It's just a jumble of medical-ese, doctor jargon, treatment options, different scenarios. And by and large, try as you might, you just can't concentrate.

All you know is that someone has just told you that you have cancer.

All of that information can...and will...be absorbed in later conversations.

If you or someone close to you hasn't ever had experience with cancer, chances are you will at some point in your life. If you've listened to the radio or watched any of NESN's programming over these past two days, you know that the 14th annual Jimmy Fund radio telethon is underway. Red Sox manager John Farrell was just diagnosed with Stage 1 lymphoma and is currently undergoing chemotherapy.

Cancer sucks. There's really no other way to put it. It knows no boundaries. Not age, or gender, or race, or creed, or monetary situation.

Each year amazing strides are made in both discovery and treatment. More work needs to be done. Please consider making a donation - no matter how large or small - to the Jimmy Fund. Click here for more information.

Click here to find more by Jim Monaghan on Red Sox Life. Follow him on twitter - @Monaghan21