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Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell confirms cancer is in remission

By Sean Penney

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The Boston Red Sox received good news on Thursday. No, make that great news. A PET scan to determine the status of manager John Farrell‘s battle with cancer revealed that the case of lymphoma he has been undergoing treatment for is now in remission.

Farrell spoke with the media via conference call on Friday for the first time since he announced his diagnosis back in August, where he revealed some details of his treatment. According to a report by WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford, Farrell explained during this call that he needed to undergo the equivalent of six months of chemotherapy in only about eight weeks due to the aggressiveness of the disease.  He was forced to spend 7-10 hours per day lying on an infusion bed while hooked to an IV and taking seven different types of medication.

Despite the intensity of the treatment, Farrell says he has come out of the ordeal feeling good and is ready to get back to work. He plans to travel to Arizona on Saturday for the Red Sox’ organizational meetings and does not anticipate his health holding him back once the team begins to ramp up toward spring training in a few months.

"“There’s no restrictions,” said Farrell. “As a matter of fact, the more you can push yourself physically, and obviously listen to your body when you need to slow down, you listen to it. To regain 100 percent stamina, it’s a matter of the workout routine that will get that back there. I’ve got a series of followup exams that are scheduled and there will be a close monitoring of the situation going forward, probably over the next 12 months, which is normal. That’s routine for what someone has come through similar to this. No restrictions.”"

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Farrell seems to be in good spirits, even managing to crack a joke feigning his disappointment in not losing weight during his chemo treatments. While he acknowledged that this process has taken a toll on his body, he remains confident that he will continue to ramp up his strength through a planned workout routine.

By the time the 2016 season rolls around, Farrell intends to be ready to take his place in the dugout as manager of the Red Sox, with bench coach Torey Lovullo at his side. Despite the team’s improved play down the stretch that saw them finish the season with a 28-20 record under Lovullo’s interim watch, Farrell doesn’t foresee any awkwardness working together again. Lovullo bypassed the opportunity to seek other managerial positions elsewhere by agreeing to a new two-year deal through 2017 to remain as the bench coach of the Red Sox.

The positive report on Farrell’s health reminds us of the tremendous work done through WEEI and NESN’s partnership with the Jimmy Fund. The mere mention of the word cancer is enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine, but success stories like Farrell’s give hope to everyone suffering from this disease. Every survivor gets us one step closer to annihilating this dreadful illness.

Farrell has shown an incredible amount of fortitude in fighting his way back from his battle with lymphoma. While he still has a long road ahead of him to build his strength back up, the news of his cancer remission is a positive step.

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