Fundraiser celebrates 8 years cancer-free

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February 12, 2010

By Cara Spilsbury

This year, Tara Ryan Byrne's son, Senan, of Bradford, celebrated his eighth birthday.

Senan's birthday has another special meaning for their family. It means Ryan Byrne has been eight years free from the non-Hodgkin's lymphoma she was diagnosed with at five-months pregnant.

For the last four years, Ryan Byrne has turned this annual milestone into a huge party and fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute: The Kick Cancer Celebration. And each year, she gets to add another year free from cancer to the title.

The 8 Free Kick Cancer Celebration will take place from 6 p.m. to midnight on Thursday, Feb. 18, at J.P. McBride's in Lafayette Square. Tickets are $20. All proceeds go to the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

The event will feature an Irish band, Irish dancers, a DJ, food and a cash bar. There will also be raffle prizes that include a 42-inch plasma television, a Killington Ski Weekend, a Samoset Golf Weekend, and a five-course meal for 16 people at Keon's 105 Bistro, as well as 50/50 balloon chances with prizes like rounds of golf at surrounding courses, gift baskets and certificates from local salons and restaurants, an iPod shuffle and photography packages.

The first year, she set a goal to raise $4,000 at the event. She ended up raising $20,000, a plateau she reached the following two years as well.

"I would like to stress the effort of my committee and the generosity of the community," she said. "Without all of their support and donations, it just wouldn't work."

Raising more $60,000 so far for the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber, through the help and support of her community, has proved to be a rewarding experience for Ryan Byrne.

"I am proud to give back to them," she said. "They saved me."