By Jeff Lipton
She has made the trip part of her annual regimen to raise money for cancer research by participating in the Jimmy Fund Walk, in honor of her best friend's brother who died seven years ago of cancer of the esophagus at the age of 40. The first two years McLeod took part in the three-mile walk, and this year the 53-year-old will be walking five miles in the fund-raiser, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 16.
"I always finish it," McLeod, who has lived on Grand Avenue for more than five years, said of the walk. "It's a wonderful fund-raiser and I'm healthy enough, so I expect to finish this one, too."
As a manager of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan, McLeod witnesses patients and their families struggling daily with the devastating emotional and physical effects of the disease. About 12 years ago she met Julie Durmis, who works in the same industry, at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. They became good friends, despite the fact that McLeod loves the Yankees and Durmis is a diehard Red Sox fan.
Durmis's brother, Andy, was stricken with cancer and died, leaving behind a wife and son. Even though she did not know him personally, McLeod has made it a point to raise money at the Jimmy Fund Walk in his memory.
"I know that people loved him very much," she said.
Durmis has created Team Andy in her brother's memory and 14 family members, friends and co-workers will participate in the Jimmy Fund Walk, which is held in conjunction with the Boston Marathon. McLeod will join more than 7,000 participants who are expected to raise $6.3 million for cancer research and care for children and adults at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Over the past 18 years, walkers and their supporters have contributed more than $45 million to Dana-Farber, funding that supports cutting-edge cancer research to find cures and better treatments for all forms of the disease. It also provides special services and assists with costs of patient care and treatment.
McLeod said the goal this year is for Team Andy to raise $20,000 during the walk. She said she is in good physical condition and doesn't feel she needs to practice for the upcoming five-mile walk. "I may just walk around the boardwalk in Long Beach to get myself prepared," she said.
"It's a great cause," she added. "My only hope is for good weather [in Boston on Sept. 16]."
McLeod and Durmis probably will also attend a Red Sox-Yankees game being played in Boston that weekend.
The Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk is the only event, other than the Boston Marathon itself, that is sanctioned by the Boston Athletic Association to use the historic 26.2-mile route from Hopkinton to Boston. Walkers can choose from four different routes: 26.2 miles from Hopkinton, beginning at 7 a.m.; 13.1 miles from Wellesley, at 11 a.m.; five miles from Boston College, at 11 a.m.; or the three-mile route that begins at the Harvard Medical School Quad, at 2 p.m.
"The walk gives people the opportunity to join a community of friends and families to support cancer research while honoring everyone who is or has been directly affected by the disease," said Ed Wiederhold, director of the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk.
To register or make financial contributions, visit www.jimmyfundwalk.org. Contributions can also be mailed to: Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk, 10 Brookline Place West, 6th Floor, Brookline, MA 02445.
