Whether a baseball follower or not, Anthony Rizzo is a name everyone should know.  Anthony Rizzo is an all star hitter and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, but more importantly, a cancer survivor and founder of the Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation.

Rizzo’s career started off with the Boston Red Sox, at the age of 18. His steadfast baseball career, however, came to a halt when he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2008.

According to the Cancer Society, this form of cancer starts in the white blood cells and can progress to other parts of the body. Survival rates are close to 92 percent at 1-year with the 5-year and 10-year survival rates are about 86 percent and 82 percent, respectively.

Just like any other patient diagnosed, cancer was not in Rizzo’s plan. But the way he handled the news is beyond admirable. Once he learned his diagnosis, he was understandably shaken up.

Rizzo’s mother, Laurie Rizzo said “Once he got a hold of himself, it was, ‘let’s do this.’”

The news of Rizzo’s cancer soon made its way to the ears of cancer survivor and major league baseball player, Jon Lester.

Lester said,“You’re just trying to be as positive as you can to an 18-year-old kid who just had all his hopes and dreams ripped away in a 20-minute conversation with his doctor.”

Lester assured Rizzo that all he needed was a positive attitude and not too worry about it. Rizzo did just that. His approach to battling cancer was nonetheless, a positive approach, and it sure did pay off.

After his first round of chemotherapy, Rizzo said “There was never a doubt. I truly believed after my first treatment I was all better.”

After 6 months of chemo, Rizzo accomplished something that no amount of home runs, outs, or championships could ever amount to. In September of 2008, Anthony had beat cancer and was in remission.

Although for Rizzo, cancer was over and done with, there were still children out there battling the disease. From personal experience, Anthony noticed that battling cancer was just as hard, if not harder, for his family. The whole family battled cancer together. That’s when Rizzo began The Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation whose mission is to raise money for cancer research and provide support to children and families battling the disease.

The foundation is run by Rizzo’s family, friends, and management team, with Anthony as a leader and overseer. The foundation hosts dozens of fundraisers and events that help raise money for pediatric cancer which only 4 percent of national cancer funding goes to.

Some of the events the foundation hosts includes the Walk Off for Cancer Walk in Parkland, Florida, and the Cook Off for Cancer which raised around $630,000 for pediatric cancer. The entire Chicago Cubs team also sponsored the Laugh Off for cancer which was a fun night of drinks, food and laughing with the Chicago Cubs.

Aside from events, Rizzo reaches families struggling with cancer on a personal level. When he’s not playing baseball, he spends time going to Children’s hospitals and meeting with the kids and their families, hoping to provide some sort of support and positive reassurance.

It’s easy to look at Anthony Rizzo and see a big strong baseball player and World Series Champion. But what is beyond that is even more laudable: a guy who has taken both his struggles and success to give back to a cause near and dear to his heart.

Here is quick video synopsis from the foundation website rizzo4.com