John Farrell Gets Support In Lymphoma Fight From Cancer Survivor Jon Lester
BOSTON (CBS) – Former Red Sox ace and cancer survivor Jon Lester is lending his support to John Farrell as the Red Sox manager begins his own fight against lymphoma.
Farrell made the surprise announcement Friday at Fenway Park that he'll be leaving the team for the rest of the season. He'll begin chemotherapy next week to treat lymphoma, which is the name for a group of blood cancers that develop in the lymphatic system.
Lester came back from lymphoma in late July 2007 and eventually went on to win the clinching game of the World Series in Colorado. Farrell was his pitching coach that season.
"I sent him a note, he got back to me pretty quickly. It sounds pretty positive as far as treatment," Lester, who now pitches for the Chicago Cubs, told reporters Friday.
"He's in good hands and hopefully everything goes well for him."
Farrell's cancer was found earlier this week when he underwent hernia surgery in Detroit.
"I'm fortunate. Stage 1, it's localized, it's highly curable, and I'm extremely fortunate to be with not only the people on the Red Sox, but access to [Massachusetts General Hospital] and all the world-class talent that can handle this over at MGH," Farrell said at a news conference Friday.
"The good thing about lymphoma is that if it's caught early it's very treatable," said WBZ-TV's Dr. Mallika Marshall.
"There are two main types of lymphoma, there's Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and depending on the type of lymphoma, how far it has spread and the underlying health of the patient that will determine the prognosis.," Dr. Marshall said.
"But it sounds like in this case it was caught at a very early stage, even before he had developed any symptoms, so chances are the prognosis is very good."
"I never had one symptom before the notification of it — no fatigue, no night sweats, no loss of weight, obviously, no lack of appetite, none of the things that are commonly asked when you're facing something like this. So it's been a shocker," Farrell said.
Dr. Marshall said the most common ways to treat lymphoma are chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
"In some cases they may also use special treatments like immunotherapy," she said.
Farrell plans on returning next season for spring training.
For more information on lymphoma, visit the The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society web site.
