About Team Tara

Our background

Our Jimmy Fund Walk team is a group of passionate and productive people of all ages and backgrounds. We share the common bond of seeking a cancer cure and we are all willing to work hard in that effort. While we appreciate all efforts that help cancer patients, we are specifically focused on funding cancer research. Every year we designate our funds raised for The Jimmy Fund to an underfunded area of cancer research. In 2015, 2016, 2022 and 2023 we funded lung cancer research. In 2017 and 2018 we funded pancreatic cancer research, and in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2024 and again in 2025, we will focus on metastatic colon cancer research. We will not stop until we find a cure!

about the jimmy fund walk

By participating in the 2025 Boston Marathon® Jimmy Fund Walk presented by Hyundai, our team is making every step count toward the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer!

This year, on October 5th, we will be gather back on the historic Boston Marathon course. We also have the option to walk in our communities. Either way, we will be together, wherever, against cancer. The Jimmy Fund Walk is a family-friendly event that includes great people and inspiration along the route. Your feet may be sore at the end but your heart will be full!

2025 Our Inspiration

Cristina banson

“In 2022, I was in the best health I had experienced in a long time—until March, when I began feeling constantly tired and short of breath. I attributed these symptoms to the long night shifts as an RN at Mass General Hospital and wearing an N95 mask during the pandemic. Eventually during that month, I went to see my primary care provider. They ran several tests and scheduled me for a colonoscopy, which I had postponed during COVID, and which was not available until five months out.

In August 2022, I finally had my colonoscopy.  It was then that I received the life-changing diagnosis: stage 4 colon cancer, with multiple lesions in my liver.

Plans were immediately made to begin chemotherapy, but before treatment could start, I developed a bowel obstruction that required an emergency partial colon resection. Chemotherapy followed. In 2023, I underwent two liver resections. In 2024 I began targeted therapy.  In 2025 I received Y90 radioactive seed treatment, which led to an 18-day hospital stay for pain management and another bowel obstruction. I then went through 10 rounds of radiation.

Through it all, I continue to fight through every challenge, leaning on my strong faith and resilience.

I’m deeply grateful to my oncologist, nurses, other medical personnel, friends, and extended family who have prayed for me and supported me through every step of this journey.  I’m also very thankful for my husband and two daughters, whose strength and unwavering support have carried me through the most difficult moments.

In 2023, I walked my first Jimmy Fund Walk with my daughter as members of Team Tara and in support of the work of Dr. Kimmie Ng. Reaching the finish line brought me to tears—it felt surreal to have the strength to walk a mile after everything I had been through. The Jimmy Fund Walk has now become a yearly tradition, whether in person or virtually. It’s my way of giving back and staying connected to a community that has given me so much hope.”

– Cristina Banson
Member, Team Tara

Research at Dana-Farber

Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH

Dr. Kimmie Ng is Associate Chief of the Division of Gastrointestinal Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. She serves as Co-Director of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center and the Director of Translational Research in the division. She is also the Founding Director of the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber, one of the first of its kind in the country. Her research focuses on identifying dietary, plasma, and molecular predictors of improved survival in patients with colorectal cancer, with a special interest in the vitamin D pathway, the microbiome, and young-onset colorectal cancer. Her research has been funded by the National Cancer Institute, Cancer Research UK, U.S. Department of Defense, and other foundation and industry grants. She has been featured in multiple national media outlets, including the TODAY Show, MSNBC, ABC News, The New York Times, CNN, The Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, to raise awareness of young-onset colorectal cancer and the importance of cancer screening.

Team Tara Liaison

Jessica Abbott is the Director, Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk and liaison to Team Tara. “I feel very fortunate to work day in and day out on the Jimmy Fund Walk,” Jessica says. “I am continually inspired by the walkers I work with and their unwavering dedication to cure cancer. Team Tara epitomizes this sentiment perfectly – the community and sense of hope the team has created is a force to be reckoned with. Team Tara continues to set the fundraising bar higher each year – inching us closer and closer to the ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.”

Learn More

Articles of interest by Dr. NG

Cancer keeps coming for the young. Why?
The Rise in Colorectal Rates Among Younger People
What is the Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Center?

Videos with Dr. Kimmie Ng

join the team

Join our team on October 5, 2025 and walk to conquer cancer. You will love the people you meet along the way and the hope you feel with every step!

Tara’s blog

Tara is a 44-year-old mother of two, diagnosed with triple-positive breast cancer in August 2012. Before her diagnosis, she knew nothing about cancer. This blog is the story of Tara’s journey.

Amy’s 2023 Extra-Mile Award

Amy Killeen was honored with the 2023 “Extra Mile Award,” an award presented to someone who has “gone the extra mile” and embodies leadership, commitment to Dana-Farber’s core values, and the ability to motivate.

RESPONSE to covid-19

Read more about how our team responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our partnerships

Team Tara cherishes the partnerships we have made over the years. Click here to learn more.

OUR INSPIRATION

HOPE AWARD RECIPIENTS