A Marblehead mom, along with her family, will be participating in the Jimmy Fund Walk on Oct. 1 to raise money for a cause that is very close to her heart.
Rachel Marco, her two daughters, 4-year-old Annie and 1-year-old Emilia, and her husband John will be walking a 5K in Boston in honor of her mother, Lorraine Harrington, who died from stage 4 ovarian cancer 16 years ago.
In January of 2007, Harrington was diagnosed with the disease, passing away only two months later. Since then, Marco has been dedicated to raising money for ovarian cancer research and participating in charity walks every year.
“It means a lot that we can kind of get closer to not having other people experience what my family had to,” she said.
This is Marco’s first year participating in the Jimmy Fund Walk. So far, her team has raised more than $1,500 toward its goal of $3,000. A marketing and communications employee at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Marco said that the money raised will help fund research and tests, such as bloodwork tests that the institute is currently working on, to detect ovarian cancer quicker and more effectively.
Marco called the experience with her mother’s diagnosis “frustrating,” as she was given little time with her between the diagnosis and her death. Though relatively easy to treat if caught early, ovarian cancer is hard to detect and there are currently no viable ways to detect it in its early stages.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death among American women, but has a five-year survival rate of more than 90% when detected and treated early.
Through the money she has raised over the years, Marco is hoping that her team can help change that, and is thankful to everyone who has donated to the cause.
“It means so much. I know from just working at Dana-Farber how meaningful it is to give back,” Marco said. “It’s a place that’s changing lives on a daily basis.”
One of Marco’s biggest supporters has been her husband, who said he is amazed at the work she does every year and wants to help in any way he can.
“I’m just always in awe of the amount she does and I feel like I’m just there to make sure she’s good and she kind of has everything else running like clockwork,” John Marco said.
Though their daughters were not born before her mother’s death, Marco said that the upcoming Jimmy Fund Walk will hopefully be a moment for them to learn about their grandmother and serve as a way to honor her and keep her in their memories as they grow up.
“It means a lot to be able to walk in her honor, but also remind my girls of who she was and how important she was to our family since they didn’t have a chance to meet her,” Marco said.