“I wish cancer got cancer then died.”
There’s nothing like a 10-year-old cancer survivor to get right to the heart of things.
George “Gidge” Farraher splashed his handwritten mini-manifesto across the fronts of T-shirts he created for the 2014 Four Seasons Run of Hope, an annual fundraiser in support of pediatric cancer care and research at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children (MGHfC) Cancer Center. Gidge sold nearly 500 of the T-shirts and rang up nearly $20,000 in donations, making him the event’s top fundraiser in 2014.
Gidge lives in Saugus, Mass. with his parents, Nikki and George, and two older sisters. But it was his aunt, Dawn Finocchiaro, who coached him through his winning effort. Dawn, who participates every year in the 5K run/2K walk hosted by the Four Seasons Hotel Boston, had promised Gidge during his bout with medulloblastoma that she would raise money for pediatric cancer in his honor as long as she could.
Six years old at the time of his diagnosis, Gidge underwent brain surgery, six weeks of radiation and 56 weeks of chemotherapy at the MGHfC Cancer Center. Today, he is cancer-free
“Now that Gidge is older and understands what he went through and sees other young children going through it, he was determined to be the top fundraiser this year,” says Dawn. “He was so proud. The T-shirt sales were a huge hit. He is already working on what he can sell next year, and he wants to exceed what we raised this year.”
