BOSTON — Growing up in the Boston area, David Sau knows the importance of the Jimmy Fund Walk.
“It was part of the fabric of life in Boston,” Tau said.
But it wasn’t until he was 34 that Tau realized the true impact of the Jimmy Fund Walk. Tau said she experienced abdominal pain, fatigue and bloody stools for years before she was finally taken to the emergency room. The CAT scan would change his life.
“They found a 7.5-centimeter baseball-sized tumor in my left descending colon,” Tau said. “So my diagnosis was stage 3C colon cancer.”
With no family history of colon cancer, Tau said the diagnosis came as a surprise.
“It’s supposed to be something you get when you get older. Certainly not in your mid-30s. That was pretty scary,” Tau said.
At the time of her diagnosis, Tau was living in Washington, D.C., where she still resides today.
Distance didn’t matter to him. Tau returned to Boston after her mother convinced her to consider a youth colorectal cancer center. This facility was established through the Dana-Farber Center to address the needs of colorectal cancer patients under the age of 50.
“It turned out to be exactly what I needed,” Tau said.
In 2019, he spent six months at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and underwent 12 rounds of chemotherapy. Fast forward to today and he is cancer free. In January 2025, it will have been five years since I was cancer-free.
“It’s always strange to say that I’m lucky. I had cancer in my 30s, and I’m very lucky that it was discovered when it was diagnosed and that I was able to receive the best treatment in the world. , and passed that on to Dana-Farber,” Tau said.
He encourages everyone to get involved and donate. Then, like him, more lives will be saved.
“No amount of money makes you feel better than giving money to Dana-Farber,” Tau said. “They truly work miracles every day, making a small difference in the lives of not only those currently receiving treatment, but those who may receive treatment in the future.
Tau wants everyone to know the symptoms and signs of colon cancer. You can find the chart here.
This year, Tau became one of the Jimmy Fund’s top fundraisers. If you would like to donate, you can do so by clicking here.
Click here to register for the Jimmy Fund Walk on October 6th.
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