Jamie Campbell, the face of Blue Jays Central on Sportsnet, has been open about publicizing his leukemia diagnosis in the hopes he can be ‘a little bit of a beacon’ for fellow cancer patients
During the Game 1 broadcast of the World Series, Sportsnet’s Jamie Campbell held up a special white T-shirt for the camera. “HE HIT IT ALL THE WAY TO TIMMINS,” the shirt said, in blue letters.
For diehard Blue Jays fans, that catchphrase is very familiar — a line Campbell often uses to describe a deep homerun. He has uttered the words so many times over so many seasons that he’s become an unofficial ambassador for the Northern Ontario city.
The limited-edition T-shirt is a partnership between TimminsToday and Tourism Timmins in support of the local hospital’s oncology department. Campbell, who has been open about his own battles with cancer, did not hesitate to throw his support behind the fundraiser.
Three years ago, Campbell revealed he’d been diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a type of blood cancer. During a recent interview on Village Media’s Closer Look podcast, he talked about why he ultimately chose to go public with his health struggles.
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“What I decided was: If I’m going to battle this thing, there might be days where I can’t get to work and I need people to know that,” Campbell told the podcast.
But more importantly, he wanted to provide comfort to others who might receive the same diagnosis.
“You know that I’m fighting chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and maybe you get the same tap on the shoulder that I did,” Campbell said. “At the bare minimum, you can say: ‘Hey, that guy that I see when I watch the baseball game seems to be doing well, so maybe I’ll do well too.’ And that’s the real reason that I decided I wasn’t going to be able to hide it.”
“Maybe I can be a little bit of a beacon for somebody,” he continued. “And I know I have, because I’ve heard from people who said: ‘Hey, I got the same diagnosis and you’re the first person I thought of, and I felt so much better knowing I’ve got a great chance of winning this fight.’”
You can watch our full podcast interview with Campbell HERE, or in the YouTube video below.
Want to order one of the shirts? You can do that HERE until Oct. 29.
If you already have a shirt, don’t be shy about sharing your pride. Send a photo to [email protected], or tag the City of Timmins on Facebook or Instagram.
Hosted by Village Media’s Michael Friscolanti and Scott Sexsmith, and produced by Derek Turner, Closer Look is a new daily podcast that goes way beyond the headlines with insightful, in-depth conversations featuring our reporters and editors, leading experts, key stakeholders and big newsmakers.
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Podcast hosts Scott Sexsmith (left) and Michael Friscolanti, Editor-in-Chief of Village Media.
