By Heather Morrison
masslive.com
WRENTHAM, Mass. — Since being diagnosed with a rare cancer, a Wrentham police officer and father of four remained upbeat, dedicating his life to running marathons to help raise money to fight cancer.
But for George Labonte, 44, it wasn’t to raise money to fight his own rare and incurable cancer, medullary thyroid cancer. Instead, he focused on pediatric cancer, Wrentham Police Chief Bill McGrath wrote.
“George knew firsthand how scary it was for him to deal with cancer and imagined it had to be even worse for kids,” McGrath wrote in a statement on Facebook. “The definition of selflessness.”
On Monday, Labonte died, crossing the finish line of a marathon he never asked to run, the police department said.
“Not Boston or Chicago. This marathon began in 2016, the one he never asked for, never trained for, but nevertheless, ran hard and steady with the ferocity of a champion,” the statement read.
The deputy police chief was diagnosed with medullary thyroid cancer in March of 2016, according to his Instagram post. He had surgery and received chemotherapy and radiation. But the cancer spread to his spine, hips, ribs and liver.
He tried an experimental drug known as Loxo or Retevmo, which McGrath called a “miracle drug.”
“This drug gave me my quality of life back plus so much more,” Labonte wrote in 2020. “I made a promise to my family and myself that I would be as healthy as I could during this fight; both mentally and physically.”
When he had the idea to start running marathons to raise money for cancer research, “it really didn’t seem possible,” the police department said.
But he did. He ran in Boston and Chicago and was doing half marathons, the police department said.
“Suddenly, the man with incurable cancer, seemed like the healthiest cop on Wrentham P.D., just living his life his way,” McGrath wrote.
In 2021, Labonte shared a photo on Instagram comparing the time he was in the middle of chemotherapy to where he was at five years later, much stronger and able to run.
“I am so blessed to have the opportunity to keep my mind and body fit,” he wrote.
He completed the Boston Marathon in 2021, raising more than $13,000 for the MGH Pediatric Cancer fund, according to his Instagram post.
Through his running, he also hoped “to inspire others diagnosed with cancer or other diseases to show them that you can still accomplish great things even when dealing with a difficult condition,” according to Boston.com.
Although he had his low moments, McGrath said, “he never lost hope and optimism.”
“He harnessed the immeasurable love and support from Katie, the kids, his family and he forged ahead for as long as he could. He roared,” the statement read.
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