Hundreds of survivors, families, friends, staff, and members of the Fox Chase Cancer Center community celebrated cancer survivorship on Saturday, July 13 as the Philadelphia Phillies played the Washington Nationals.
Fox Chase changed things up this year by combining Fox Chase Night at the Phillies, hosted by the Friends of Fox Chase and Fox Chase Chapters of the Board of Associates, with our annual Cancer Survivors’ Day. The result was an exciting night of fun, food, and baseball, as we honored our survivors who are cancer-free and patients still in the fight.
The celebration kicked off with a tailgate in the parking lot of Citizens Bank Park. It was amazing to see our survivors and their families get to know each other, and talk about their shared experiences.
Then, as our group settled into the stands, everyone’s eyes were on the Jumbo-tron, just before the National Anthem, as a video played of our bladder cancer survivor Tom Maguire talking about his cancer journey. Watch his story here.
The night was filled with more special moments for our Fox Chase family, after Dick Millham threw out the first pitch, and our survivors cheered on the Phillies with Fox Chase hats and rally towels. Dick is a merkle cell carcinoma survivor and a member of the Bucks County chapter of the Fox Chase Board of Associates.
Our survivors didn’t run on to the field this year, the way they have in years past, but instead took the extra time to enjoy the many pregame activities. As the game was underway, we like to think we had the loudest cheering section, even though our beloved home team lost to the Nationals 4 to 3.
But, to pick up everyone's spirits as an added bonus, we were all treated to a post-game fireworks show.
And, as an added bonus, the proceeds from the 50/50 raffle tickets purchased during the game at kiosks located throughout the ballpark benefited Fox Chase. We raised $8,755, which is amazing!
We couldn’t have asked for a better night. Thank you to the Phillies and all who came out for the celebration.
Take a look at more images from the Survivors' Night event.