
Meet Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk Team CURE AT/RT Now

When Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk team “Team Declan” (currently known as Cure AT/RT Now) was started in 2008, they had 20 team members and their goal was to get Declan to walk across the finish line-and he did-using a little yellow duck pushcart for support. In 2014, team “Cure AT/RT Now” has a goal of recruiting 50 team members and has cumulatively raised more than $250,000 to support cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber. More impressively, Declan walks the 13.1-mile Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk route himself.
As an infant, Declan was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive, fast-growing brain tumor called an atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT). Today, thanks to Dana-Farber and cancer walks like the Jimmy Fund Walk, Declan is a long-term AT/RT survivor and fourth grader who enjoys an active lifestyle, playing baseball, reading, and his friends and family.
In preparation for their 7th Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, Declan’s mother, Mel Pepin, shares why team Cure AT/RT Now walks to conquer cancer.
“We experienced first-hand how important funding is for cancer research, especially rare cancers like AT/RT. Participating in cancer walks like the Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk is important to our family for so many reasons. It is one of the most inspiring events we have ever been a part of and it means the world to us to be able to give back to the Institute and support cancer research which will help patients like Declan.”
We can’t wait to see Declan and Team Cure AT/RT Now on the course this September! Learn more about the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk and patients stories like Declan’s.