The Hendriks’ Mission To Close Out Cancer

The life of a professional Major League Baseball player is highly structured. are 162 regular-season games from April through October, post-season play and an off-season that goes by in the blink of an eye. Spring Training starts in February, and just like that, another season begins and the cycle begins anew.

But for relief pitcher Liam Hendriks, that rhythm was shattered in December 2022. Then playing for the Chicago White Sox, he was diagnosed with lymphoma – just weeks after noticing a small nodule on his scalp.

Born in Perth, Australia – described by Hendriks as “the most remote city in the world” – Liam wears jersey number 31, a nod to the fact that he was only the 31st Australian to play Major League Baseball. His athletic roots run deep: His father and grandfather were standout Australian Rules Football players, and Liam began his journey in baseball after a childhood of playing T-ball and resisting the pull toward cricket. Now 36 and a three-time All-Star (2019, 2021, 2022), Liam plays for the Boston Red Sox, continuing a career defined not only by talent but also by grit, resilience, and an unshakable partnership with his wife, Kristi.

An Unexpected Diagnosis

In May 2022, Liam noticed a small lump near his hairline. He brushed it off until a few weeks later, when Kristi spotted additional warning signs while watching him play on TV.

“I was at home watching the game,” Kristi recalled. “The lights were bright and Liam was sweating because it was super humid in Chicago, and when he turned to look at the catcher, I saw these three solid nodules on his neck –something didn’t look right.”

When Liam returned home that night, Kristi carefully inspected the lumps and tried to determine what they might be. Initially, they didn’t think much of them.

“At first, you think, ‘Okay, is it an infected hair follicle? Is it an ingrown hair?’” Kristi said. “You reach for any number of explanations – he’s an athlete, he sweats a lot. It could be acne. Any number of possibilities could explain it away.”

But by June, more nodules appeared, and the couple grew more concerned. Liam had blood work done, but the results were initially inconclusive. General practitioners floated vague possibilities, but finally, a biopsy in December confirmed the truth: follicular lymphoma (FL). “One of the toughest parts of our lymphoma journey was waiting for results,” said Kristi. “Your mind spirals in different directions and makes you more uneasy by the day.”

Side by Side Through Treatment

After overcoming the initial shock and assessing their options, Liam and Kristi decided to choose the Mayo Clinic in Arizona for treatment, conveniently located near their off-season home. After receiving a second opinion that confirmed Liam’s diagnosis, they went public with it on January 8, 2023. The very next day, chemotherapy began. Liam’s treatment included immunotherapy and chemotherapy administered every 28 days. The initial sessions were physically challenging, with Liam experiencing an initial allergic reaction to immunotherapy and severe nausea throughout treatment.

Another unexpected challenge was cognitive.

“While in treatment, I found it difficult to read or focus on anything for long, and that was hard because I’ve always been an avid reader,” Liam said. “It would take me an hour to finish a chapter that should’ve taken seven minutes.”

Instead, he passed the time with Lego sets – calming, repetitive work that didn’t demand focus. Kristi faced different but equally significant challenges. A self-described planner, she managed Liam’s treatment schedule efficiently but found it difficult to connect with people who weren’t going through a similar life-threatening health situation.

“Socialization was hard for me because I just felt like I was on one side of the rainbow and most people were on the other side,” she explained. “Habits that had helped pass the time pre-diagnosis, like scrolling through Instagram, now just highlighted our different worlds. I love my friends, but during that time, it was hard for me to care about a ‘Get Ready With Me’ video when I was trying to keep my husband alive.”

She credits weekly mental health counseling as crucial for her own well-being.

“I cannot recommend mental health counseling enough for care partners,” she said. “So many people think that the patient should be getting mental health counseling, which they should, but as I tell people, he slept through a lot of the things that I had to witness firsthand.”

The Triumphant Return

Throughout Liam’s treatment, support poured in from fans and the White Sox. Buses and billboards across Chicago carried messages of hope. “I’ve always been able to find the silver lining in absolutely everything,” said Liam. “And we were definitely helped by the White Sox and the city of Chicago, who were fantastic throughout my treatment.”

After completing treatment, Liam defied the odds and returned to pitch for the Chicago White Sox on May 29, 2023, less than six months after his initial diagnosis. Kristi was there to celebrate the emotional milestone.

To mark the occasion, the White Sox created “Close Out Cancer” T-shirts, which were part of a fundraising initiative with proceeds benefiting the Lymphoma Research Foundation. Fans had also submitted heartfelt messages of support for both Liam and Kristi.

“It was that word ‘research’ in the title of Lymphoma Research Foundation’s name that first attracted me to them,” Kristi said. “Research was what was keeping my husband alive, so I couldn’t think of any better beneficiary of this fundraiser.”

The Lymphoma Research Foundation has supported us every step of the way, and we hope our involvement with the Foundation can raise more awareness of lymphoma and their vital mission to eradicate it.

Sales of the T-shirts generated over $100,000 for the Foundation, and the Hendriks’ relationship with the organization has continued to grow. Kristi joined the Foundation’s Board of Directors in 2024. In November 2025, the couple will receive the Foundation’s Distinguished Leadership Award at its Annual Gala.

“We’re very humbled by this honor,” said Kristi. “We really try to use our platform for good and make lemonade out of the lemons. The Lymphoma Research Foundation has supported us every step of the way, and we hope our involvement with the Foundation can raise more awareness of lymphoma and their vital mission to eradicate it.”

A New Chapter in Boston Navigating Survivorship

Though Liam made only five appearances in 2023 before undergoing Tommy John surgery, his comeback earned him the American League’s Comeback Player of the Year Award.

In February 2024, the Boston Red Sox signed him to a two-year contract, and on April 19, 2025 – 680 days after his last game – Liam returned to the mound, back in jersey #31. He’s working to regain the elite form that made him the American League’s Reliever of the Year in 2020 and 2021.

Though treatment was taxing, Liam and Kristi agree that survivorship has presented its own unique challenges.

“I’ve come to realize that survivorship can be harder than going through treatment just because there’s no playbook,” said Liam.

The couple has found a common purpose by connecting with other cancer survivors and care partners through the Foundation and their own charitable organization – Hendrik’s Heroes, a program where they meet with cancer survivors and care partners at ballparks across the country. What began in Chicago has continued in Boston, earning Liam a nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award – an honor he has been nominated for six times throughout his career.

“I enjoy socializing with fans, and the people who come out to see us are survivors and caretakers themselves, so they understand what we’ve gone through, having been through the same challenges,” said Liam. “It’s meaningful to meet other survivors – seeing someone take that extra step or with that little spark in their eyes on that day of treatment – that could be the difference. And that’s something that I’m really proud of.”

Asked what advice he’d offer others facing lymphoma, Liam didn’t hesitate:

“Don’t let anybody tell you what you can and cannot do. If you feel like you can do it, do it,” he said. “I’ve found that the more times you say ‘cancer,’ the more times you say ‘chemotherapy,’ it lessens the weight that it has upon you, and you can move on with your life. It’s not the easiest thing to joke about because it’s really scary, obviously, but I’ve found that the more you can joke about it, the more you can smile and remain positive.”