Just having their healthy boy back is something that can never be repaid but Sarah Byrne would at least like to try

Thousands of children in the United States are diagnosed with some form of cancer each year.  There is a lot of research dedicated to the disease with a goal of finding a cure. Sarah Byrne had seen the emotionally devastating toll such a diagnosis can take on a family — but never could she imagine it happening in her family. Then, just two years after her and husband Seamus welcomed their second boy, Cian, into the world, they were given that news that no parent wants to hear: "Your son has cancer." "For us, it was kind of a mixed experience," said Byrne. "We had a former classmate and friend of ours have a son pass away from cancer, and then months later our son had it. So for us it was like, 'This is reality, this is happening to us.' During the process we met some amazing other families, many of which lost their children. It was very difficult." Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. Thanks to the tremendous treatment and tender compassion from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Cian, now six years old, has fully recovered. That dedication and around the clock care their son received is something Sarah and her family will never forget.  Just having their healthy boy back is something that can never be repaid — but Byrne would at least like to try. That's why she decided to run this Sunday's Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) Half Marathon in an effort to raise money for the foundation that saved her son's life.

posted Friday October 5th