Their best foot forward COURTESY OF DIANNE HOAR
Stoneham runs for track coach battling cancer
Around 200 runners took their marks Saturday on a grassy field outside Stoneham’s Colonial Park Elementary School, setting off on course to raise money for a beloved guidance counselor and track coach locked in her third battle with cancer in four years.
Kristen Polizzotto, who advises students at Stoneham High School, has been fighting lymphoma on and off since she was first diagnosed in 2015 — when she was seven months pregnant with her son, Cayden, who recently turned 4.
Now back in the hospital for her latest round of treatment, the school and local track communities have rallied around Polizzotto, her husband, Bryan Polizzotto, and their son yet again, turning out en masse for a 5K run in her honor Saturday morning.
“It’s been a tough, crazy struggle for our family. But we’re overwhelmed by the support,” Bryan said.
Kristen has “done so much for the town, the track program,” said fellow coach Bob Sargent, a teacher at Stoneham Central Middle School. “Everyone jumped at the opportunity to give back to her.”
Doctors diagnosed Kristen with stage 4 lymphoma in 2015, starting her on chemotherapy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center after her son’s birth.
“We were all excited about having a grandbaby,” said her father, Jim Hoar, another track coach. “Then we had to go through this.”
Kristen battled through. But her cancer returned last December, when doctors found two tumors in her heart and two tumors in her ovaries, Hoar said. Kristen underwent CAR T-cell therapy, in which a patient’s cells are manipulated to attack cancer cells within the body. She spent 13 days in the hospital, the treatment causing temporary lapses in her balance and speech — what her father called her “dark days.”
After that, “we thought we were all set,” Hoar said. But then Kristen started getting inexplicable headaches. Her diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had returned yet again, this time affecting her central nervous system.
Adding to the family’s tribulations, Bryan was diagnosed with testicular cancer last June, finishing three rounds of chemotherapy shortly before his wife was re-diagnosed. He’s been cancer-free since last October.
“We’re four years and four months into just what you never expect,” Bryan said, adding that his wife, “just always stayed really positive and really strong.”
The Polizzottos say they’ve received an outpouring of support from local coaches, school staff, and current and former students — with texts coming in from alumni now living across the country.
Many of the supporters at Saturday’s 5K sported “Kristen Strong” or “KP’s Army” T-shirts and tank tops.
Paraprofessional and fellow coach Eileen DiLisio, who helped organize Saturday’s event, said Kristen is “a big part of the community. Kids love her. She’s there for them all the time. She’s just an amazing person. She’s just a light.”
Kristen, who spent Saturday at Massachusetts General Hospital recovering from her latest round of treatment, delivered a message to those who ran for her, cheering them on in spirit.
“I don’t know that there is much else to say except we continue to be surprised and humbled by the outpouring of love, prayers and good vibes from the community. Working in the high school, then coaching there, and then moving to the town of Stoneham has been building on one great experience and group of people after the next,” Kristen later told the Herald via text message. “The track and cross country community throughout the state, including the MSTCA, is a really tight-knit group that has been relentless in their support.”
The family is hopeful she’ll be able to receive a bone marrow transplant within the next few months. In the meantime, they say they’re grateful for the support.
“It’s overwhelming,” Hoar said. “You just don’t realize the network of people out there. I’m speechless.”