April 16, 1999

On Monday, Alicia Foley will run the toughest race of her life – the 26-mile Boston Marathon. But Foley, supervisor of the MGH Bone Marrow Transplant Processing Lab, knows that her race will be over in a few hours, while Kayla Aiello, a patient at the MGH, faces a longer and tougher race against the cancer that has invaded her 4-year-old body.

Foley is one of 45 people who have committed to finishing the Boston Marathon to raise money for pediatric cancer research at the MGH. Some of them, like Foley, have never run a marathon – never even run a race. But they are motivated by the children and their families who never give up their fight against cancer.

Members of the MGH Marathon Team, from left, Alicia Foley,
Deb Watts, MPT, and Susie Flaherty, MSW.

The MGH Marathon Team was started last year by Howard Weinstein, MD, chief of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, after one of his patients died from incurable sarcoma. Weinstein had run the Boston Marathon many times, but this time he pledged to run to raise money in memory of the 18-year-old boy who had been under his care.

Weinstein was joined by 10 colleagues and friends who raised more than $45,000. This year, the team of 45 runners hopes to raise $150,000. All of the money goes directly toward finding effective new treatments for patients.

For Foley, the run is deeply personal. She met Kayla last fall, when the young girl was being treated for Wilm's tumor, which had spread from her right kidney to her lungs. Foley assisted with collecting and preserving Kayla's peripheral blood stem cells in case she would need a bone marrow transplant. Foley has since grown close to the Aiello family, going to their house for dinner every week, and she signed up to run the marathon in honor of Kayla.

Many of the runners have their own inspiration: Dan Santanello is running for his 7-year-old daughter, Kristin, and Paul Beggan is running for his 11-year-old daughter, Lindsey. Deb Watts, MPT, is running for two of her patients, Mike Davis and Matt Barry, both 17. And Craig Garfield, MD, a resident in Pediatrics, is running for 5-year-old Emma Carey.

The evening before the marathon, the runners, the kids and their families will be treated to a "carbo-load" pasta dinner at the Park Plaza Hotel, sponsored by Fleet Bank. During the race, patients and their families are invited to Weinstein's house, located at the 20-mile mark in Newton, to cheer on the team.

Sandy Aiello, Kayla's mother, says she can't describe how much she appreciates Foley running for her daughter. "I feel that if it wasn't for the MGH Pediatric Hematology/Oncology clinic, my daughter wouldn't have had the chance she has. Alicia and the rest of the team have worked so hard to cure Kayla's cancer. They're all near and dear to our hearts."

MGHers on the 1999 MGH Marathon Team

Nicole Dorn, Marketing
Alan Ezekowitz, MD, PhD, Pediatrics
Susie Flaherty, MSW, Social Service
Alicia Foley, Hematology/Oncology
Erin Gammell, MSPT, Physical Therapy
Craig Garfield, MD, Pediatrics
Jen Griffin, MPT, Physical Therapy
Andrew Hansen, Transplantation Biology Research Center
Honor Hawkins, Marketing
Shawn Hillier, Radiology
Nicole Lee Johnson, Dietetics
Tom Lynch, MD, Hematology/Oncology
Mary O'Brien, RN, Pediatrics
Allison Poulos, General Clinical Research Center
Kara Raynor, Partners Development
Lisa Sohl, RN, Nursing
Deb Watts, MPT, Physical Therapy
Howard Weinstein, MD, Pediatric Hematology/Oncology