Major League Baseball pitchers Liam Hendriks of the Chicago White Sox and Carlos Carrasco of the New York Mets, both cancer survivors, recently joined forces to uplift a group of young cancer patients. The children from Cohen Children’s Medical Center were hosted at Citi Field as part of Carrasco’s “Cookie’s Kids” program.
The youngsters enjoyed a behind-the-scenes tour of the ballpark, including typically restricted areas like the dugout and bullpen. The highlight of the visit was meeting Hendriks and Carrasco, who shared their personal journeys of overcoming cancer. The children were also treated to lunch, gifts, and tickets to a future Mets game.
Carrasco, who conquered chronic myelogenous leukemia in 2019, expressed the significance of their presence, saying, “It was really nice. He [Hendriks] came over, and he wanted to do this. There’s a lot of people who can see that [and realize] if we can make it, they can make it, too.”
Hendriks, diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in January and declared cancer-free in April, emphasized the importance of open communication, stating, “The one thing I always try and stress is: You’re not alone. Reach out, talk to people. Don’t be worried about talking to a therapist. Don’t be worried about talking to people about it. You remove the stigma of the word ‘cancer.’ The more you talk about it, the lighter you start feeling. It takes that weight off of you.”
Currently sidelined with right elbow inflammation, Hendriks threw pitches off the mound at Citi Field as part of his rehabilitation. He acknowledged that his chemotherapy treatments might have contributed to the injury. He also shared that he received a cortisone shot and a PRP injection, both cleared by his oncologist.
Hendriks found deep meaning in the stories shared by the young patients. He remarked, “It was great today, being able to talk to him [Carrasco] about his stuff, what he went through and kind of relate the stories. And then to hear some of the kids talk about their treatment plans and everything, it’s always really cool. It takes the edge off. … You’re trying to remove the stigma of going through treatment and not being able to talk about it.”
