Not all of us can relate to what John Farrell and his family must be going through right now, but Jon Lester can. He’s been there.
Farrell revealed on Friday that he has been diagnosed with Stage 1 lymphoma, forcing him to step aside from his managerial duties with the Boston Red Sox for the remainder of the season. Cancer is a frightening situation for anyone to have to go through, but Lester is confident that his former manager will overcome it.
"“Obviously, we go pretty far back,” Lester told reporters on Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune. “I talked to him a little bit already. He seems very positive. Everything seems very positive. So that’s good. He’s in a very good place for it. Obviously, it’s one of the better places, if not the best place in the country, to be at if you do have cancer.”"
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Lester knows firsthand that Farrell will get the best care available because he’s experienced the treatment provided by the doctors at the world-renowned Massachusetts General Hospital. Lester was diagnosed with a form of lymphoma in August 2006 while in the Red Sox organization. Following a successful recovery, he returned to the mound in July 2007 with the Red Sox, back when Farrell was the team’s pitching coach.
While Lester admits he doesn’t know the details of Farrell’s case, his advice for his former manager remains the same. Stay positive.
"“It’s one of those things you have to ride out,” explains Lester. “You have to do what the doctors tell you to do. I don’t know the details of which he’ll be going through. I don’t know the type. Just know it’s lymphoma. It can be a million different things.“It sounded very curable and very positive, from what I read and saw. That’s the most important thing, but I don’t think you can prepare for a situation like that. You just have to grind through it.”"
Red Sox bench coach Terry Lovullo will take over as interim manager for the rest of the season, but Farrell hopes to be back in time for spring training next year. It’s an aggressive timeline to predict he will be fully recovered within 6 months, but if Farrell responds well to treatment then we should see him back in the dugout in 2016. Count Lester among those that believes in him and will be rooting for him.
Farrell and Lester already have much in common, which is part of why they formed such a strong bond during their time together in Boston. This is one thing that Farrell would prefer not to have in common with his former ace, but his similar strong-willed mentality is what will help him get through this.
Here’s hoping that Farrell’s recovery goes just as well as it once did for Lester, in which case he will be able to add cancer survivor to the list of things they have in common.
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