Celebrating the End of Treatment With the Giants and Red Sox

Tarun Thiara, 17, was sitting in his hospital bed, receiving chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, when a Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Child Life specialist walked in.

“Do you like baseball?” he asked.

Tarun and his family smiled. Tarun and his brother, Rohan, both play baseball and they especially love the San Francisco Giants.

“We actually have a photo of Buster Posey from when the Giants last won the World Series outside of the kids’ rooms,” said Michelle Thiara, Tarun’s mom.

Now, in the same week Tarun completed his cancer treatment, he celebrated in a special way: meeting Posey at a Giants game.

“An exciting opportunity”

Tarun went through a rollercoaster of events these past three months. In February, Tarun found a lump in his neck. He went to see his doctor in Merced where he got a blood test, chest X-ray, and ultrasound. His doctor then asked, “Can I refer you to Stanford Children’s?”

After they arrived at the Stanford Children’s Bass Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Diseases, Tarun was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma.

“At first, I was really shocked,” Tarun recalled. “A few hours go by, and then it really sets in. It is emotional, but I knew I just had to do it.”

The first three rounds of chemotherapy were hard for Tarun.

“He had major stomach pains and couldn’t eat,” Michelle said. “His second round, he had severe joint pain and walking around was difficult. He had to use a walker. It’s been hard.”

Because of his treatment, he had to miss baseball season this year, which is why he jumped at this opportunity.

Celebrating at the Giants game

Boston Red Sox relief pitcher, Liam Hendriks, had his own journey with cancer treatment after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in January 2023. Since then, he’s intensified his outreach efforts to raise awareness for cancer research, treatment, and survivorship. While he couldn’t make the game on Friday, his teammate, relief pitcher Brennan Bernardino, stepped in to deliver a gift bag and visit with Tarun.

Then, Tarun went to the Giants’ dugout to meet with Posey, who also is committed to improving outcomes for pediatric cancer. When they met, Tarun shared his good news, telling his baseball hero, “I finished treatment this week.”

To cap off the meet and greet, Tarun stood on the field to signal the start of the game, yelling “play ball!”