Cancer survivors, patients honored at Patriots

FOXBORO – “Do your job” is a statement the Patriots live by. For 34-year-old diehard Patriots fan and cancer survivor Kara Doolittle, she lives by the same mantra. “If I can be one thing to somebody I hope it’s hope,” Doolittle smiled. “And I feel if one person feels like they can reach out to me for support then I feel like maybe I did my job.” 

She and other cancer survivors and warriors are being honored at Monday night’s Patriots Crucial Catch game. Doolittle said she first discovered she had cancer after a horrific accident falling of a zip line and fracturing both her legs and back. “I had a full body CAT scan in the emergency room and that’s when they found a tumor in my breast,” she said. 

After several months of treatment and multiple surgeries, she is still fighting hard. And through it all she says the Patriots organization has been by her side. She’s met Mr. Kraft along with several of the players who have now become her fan for the ways she’s tackling her bout with cancer. 

“I got to see the Super Bowl trophies and the Super Bowl rings. Julian Edelman sent me a jersey. Mac Jones sent me a jersey. But Mr. Kraft has been around since the beginning of it all,” she smiled. 

And Monday night she is the official Crucial Catch ambassador. “I think Crucial Catch is super important because it’s about early detection and catching cancer early. And if my cancer wasn’t caught accidently and wasn’t caught as early as it was, I would be in a lot of trouble right now,” she said. 

Diagnosed less than a year ago Doolittle says she is still very new on her cancer and far from out of the woods. But she remains positive and a lot of it has to do with the support from her favorite team, which is why Monday night’s game is extra special.

“I’ve loved the Patriots my whole life but now I feel like they also love me back,” she smiled.

And she remains steadfast and positive and looking forward to get married to her fiancé next year. Ironically the two met the day of her traumatic fall. “I am extremely proud of her,” Austin Brenneman said. “She’s the toughest person I know, she’s a fighter and she inspires me to do better every day.”