By Andrew McClure

There are currently 100 children paired with collegiate and high school teams from around the nation through an “adoption” program geared toward improving the lives of those with pediatric brain tumors. Any child with a brain tumor is welcome. Any sports team that wants to adopt a child is valued.

Once FOJ matches a team and child, a ceremonial adoption is held. The child is surrounded by 20 or 30 new friends that rally around him or her. A deep bond is formed between the child, the child's family and the sports team. The child becomes the guest of honor at games and receives supportive text messages, emails and phone calls.  

Each adopted child helps to spread knowledge and understanding for pediatric brain tumors. When the athletic community is exposed to the miraculous nature of each child and realizes the hardships that child has to endure, the community is forever changed. The circle of knowledge continues to grow and expand with every child that is adopted.  

Denis Murphy, founder of FOJ and father of Jaclyn, is extremely thankful for the efforts of the student-athletes. “What these young men and women are doing for the kids and the parents is just an amazing gift,” Murphy said. “I don’t think they realize the magnitude of their love, support and friendship. I’m so grateful for all that they do to improve the quality of life for Jaclyn and all the other children suffering from this insidious disease.” 

Life changed for the Murphy family in March of 2004. Having always been healthy, it was very unusual for Jaclyn to continue vomiting for more than a day. On March 19, after days of unexplained illness, Jaclyn’s parents rushed the older of their two daughters to Vassar Brothers Hospital, in Poughkeepsie, New York. Jaclyn underwent a spinal tap, had blood drawn, and had a chest x-ray taken. All tests were negative.  

After a five-day hospital stay, where doctors told Denis and Lynda Murphy that Jaclyn had a virus, the couple brought their daughter back to her pediatrician’s office. A CT scan was advised. The scan revealed a mass in the fourth ventricle of her brain. Jaclyn was rushed to Westchester Medical Center for another CT scan and MRI which confirmed her brain tumor.  

Days later, Jaclyn underwent six hours of surgery to remove the life-threatening tumor. A little over a week later, Jaclyn was back in surgery to have a life port implanted in her chest to enable her to begin chemotherapy treatments. She began her treatments at the Sloan Kettering Center in New York. Due to the severity of her condition, she received chemotherapy and radiation simultaneously.  

In 2005, upon hearing of Jaclyn’s diagnosis, her youth lacrosse coach, Matt Cameron of Fishkill, NY, made a call to Alexis Venechanos, a Yorktown Heights native who was an assistant lacrosse coach at Northwestern University at the time. A few days later, Jaclyn received an autographed media guide and other Northwestern lacrosse paraphernalia.

While that’s usually where good gestures end, this was just the beginning of a unique bond between a young girl facing the fight of her life and some remarkable young college lacrosse players.    

Jaclyn was able to meet the Northwestern team, which was in Maryland to play Johns Hopkins. She brought the team into the world of a child suffering from brain cancer. “When the athletes start to hear about the journey the child is going through, they’re in shock,” Denis Murphy said. “Their lives change immediately. They can’t believe what the kids and their families go through.” 

While the Wildcats made a great impression on Jaclyn, the impact she had on the team was paramount. The Wildcats adopted Jaclyn, made her an honorary member of the team, gave her a jersey, and contacted her constantly via e-mail and by phone. The team had a new number one fan, and Jaclyn had dozens of new friends and sisters.  

That spring, Northwestern marched through the NCAA tournament and, with Jaclyn in attendance, knocked off defending champion Virginia 13-10 to capture its first national championship. The Wildcats finished the season with a perfect 21-0 record. Four years later, they’re making a run at their fifth consecutive national title.

Jaclyn, who is now 14, is doing well. “Each day that we’re not in the hospital is a good day,” Denis Murphy said. “Every family lives from MRI to MRI. This isn’t something that we deal with for five years; it’s here for life.”

Murphy is in awe of the actions taken by student-athletes throughout the country. “The student-athletes have no idea what they're doing for us," he said. “No pills, radiation, chemotherapy or drug is as strong as the love and support these young men and women are giving. We're so grateful.”

To make a donation or learn more about The Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, please visit the web site at www.friendsofjaclyn.org  

About Brain Tumors

·        A brain tumor is a cluster of abnormal cells growing in the brain.

·        There are more than 120 different types of brain tumors; some are malignant (cancer), many are benign (non-cancerous).

·        An estimated 52, 200 new cases of primary brain tumors are expected to be diagnosed in 2008. 

·        Primary brain tumors are those that begin in the brain and tend to stay in the brain. Metastatic brain tumors begin as a cancer elsewhere in the body and migrate, or metastasize, to the brain.

·        Brain tumor prevalence refers to the total number of people who have a brain tumor. It is estimated that   359,000 people in the United States are living with the diagnosis of a primary brain tumor.

·        Brain tumors are difficult to diagnose; their symptoms often mimic other diseases.

·        Brain tumors are the leading cause of solid tumor cancer death in children under the age of 20.

·        Benign or malignant, primary or metastatic, brain tumors are treatable.

Source: The American Brain Tumor Association, September 2008.