R.J. Lipsky, age 29, from Newton, MA is a graduate of Springfield College and Newton North High School. RJ’s professional career has taken him to the Harvard Business School, the YMCA of Greater Boston and currently the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he works as the Associate Director of Fitness. When RJ’s not working he enjoys the great outdoors, hiking, Ultimate Frisbee/ Frisbee Golf, playing just about any variation of poker and following the local sports teams. In November of 2007, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT). With the support of his family, friends and doctors at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, he is going through aggressive chemotherapy treatments in the hope to successfully treat this disease, which currently does not have a known cure. His hope is to one day regain his health and also find a cure for DSRCT so that others do not have to suffer through the same uncertainty that this disease creates.

R.J. currently lives in Newton with his fiancée, Tasha.


Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor (DSRCT) is a highly aggressive cancer that predominantly affects boys and young adults. It usually occurs in multiple masses in the abdomen and affects the lymph nodes and lining of the pelvis and abdomen. DSRCT is very rare. It is estimated that as little as 100-200 cases arise per year. Despite aggressive treatment relapse is common in almost everyone and causes a very disruptive presence in all the lives it invades.