Soccer match held in honor of Mass. girl battling cancer for second time
A Plainville seventh grader is inspiring so many people with her courageous spirit as she battles cancer for the second time.
Malia Jusczyk was first diagnosed with Neuroblastoma when she was 2-years old. She was cancer free for nine years before being diagnosed with relapse cancer.
“It was like the rug was pulled out from under her” Megan Jusczyk, Malia’s mother said.
Wanting to do something special for Malia, the community put on a soccer match Friday night, giving Malia a chance to play in the game she loves.
“So we’re just really excited for her to have this opportunity and very grateful to both the teams for putting this together so that she can get out in the field and just get that sense of normalcy even for just an hour, it’s very exciting” Megan said.
The match was held at Lamson Field at the Medway High School.
Malia is currently in between treatments for Neuroblastoma, a cancer that “almost always affects children” according to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Malia’s parents have started the “For Kids’ Sake Foundation” to help raise money for Neuroblastoma research, as well as to help families of children diagnosed with the cancer.
The foundation is hosting its 12th annual “5K & 10K super hero race to crush cancer” in Plainville next month. If you’re interested in joining a team, you can do so at this link.
“It’s just a really great opportunity to bring people together that care about Malia and care about pediatric cancer, and they can come and raise money for research,” Megan said of the event.
As for Malia, the return to the soccer field was a big hit.
“The thing that she misses the most is being out on the soccer field, so she got to practice Wednesday night and that was great … she had something to look forward to, to be back on the soccer field [Friday].”
If you would like to make a donation to For Kid’s Sake, you can do so by mailing your donation to the following address:
For Kids’ Sake Foundation
550 Kelley Boulevard
North Attleboro, MA 02760
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