Jillian Cardarelli sang the national anthem at Fenway Park this week, just months after learning she has Stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma. The Haverhill native and Nashville singer-songwriter-actress took the field during the annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon, with her family watching from the right field grandstand before Monday night's Red Sox game.
Cardarelli's performance and interview came during day one of the two-day telethon, which raises money for cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, according to the Eagle-Tribune. The telethon has raised more than $50 million since it began, per the same report, and this year's two-day drive brought in a record-breaking $7.15 million, according to WEEI. Dana-Farber notes the radio-telethon has raised more than $87 million overall since launching in 2002.
Cardarelli was diagnosed with Stage 2 invasive ductal carcinoma on May 21, after experiencing unusual fatigue and noticing a lump that felt different from the benign dense fibrous tissue she had monitored since age 25, according to OncoDaily. Her prior routine ultrasounds had consistently shown no signs of malignancy. After the diagnosis, she traveled from Nashville to Boston to begin treatment at Dana-Farber, per the Eagle-Tribune's reporting.
A Career Interrupted, Not Ended
Cardarelli grew up in Haverhill before moving to Nashville after college to pursue country music. Rolling Stone included her on its list of “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know” in August 2017 following the release of her debut single “Rerun,” which was co-written by Maren Morris and topped CMT's fan-voted video countdown.
Her momentum only built from there. In September 2024, she released “I'll Get Over You,” a duet featuring Grand Ole Opry member Vince Gill, co-written with Patrick Murphy and Tina Parol, according to All Country News. Then in 2025, she expanded into television, making her acting debut as Janie Carson in the Great American Family drama series Crossroad Springs, where she also co-wrote the show's theme song with co-star Jonathan Stoddard.
Cardarelli shot Season 2 of Crossroad Springs even as her health situation unfolded, with Great American Family accommodating her availability during filming. She told the Eagle-Tribune that her singing and acting passions can coexist, and said she is already working on new music and plans to return to Nashville to record it.
An Emotional Homecoming at Fenway
At Fenway, Cardarelli posed with Maria Menounos, the entertainment television host, actress and podcast creator who hails from Medford and who also received treatment at Dana-Farber. Cardarelli also met Red Sox players Jarren Duran and Adley Rutschman during her visit, according to the Eagle-Tribune's account of the evening.
Cardarelli's fight also echoes a song she wrote years earlier. In 2020, she co-wrote and released the ballad “Strong” with actor Charles Esten, a track inspired by her mother's 12-year battle with Stage 4 colorectal cancer, according to Jillian Cardarelli's official website. American Songwriter named the track one of the most powerful songs of 2020.
Part of a Larger Pattern
Cardarelli's diagnosis at age 33 fits within a documented trend. According to American Cancer Society figures reported in August, breast cancer diagnoses among U.S. women under 50 increased by 1.4% annually from 2012 to 2021, double the rate of increase seen in women 50 and older. Invasive ductal carcinoma, Cardarelli's specific diagnosis, is the most common form of breast cancer in the country, accounting for roughly 80% of all invasive breast cancer cases nationwide.
The Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon that hosted Cardarelli's performance directly funds the institution now treating her. Dana-Farber's Kraft Family Blood Donor Center had announced a critical shortage of red blood cells and platelets earlier this year, a shortage that directly affects cancer patients undergoing active therapy, as per Hoodline. Fundraisers like the telethon, and events such as Boston's annual Jimmy Fund Walk, remain central to keeping the institute's research and care programs running.
For now, Cardarelli's focus remains on treatment, family, and the work she loves. Her return to the Fenway Park field, national anthem and all, offered a public marker of a private fight still very much underway.
