Bell(e) of the ball(game): 88-year-old Cubs fan marks end of cancer journey at Wrigley

Cary resident Patricia Finucane always celebrates a Cubs victory by flying the W flag.

But even though the Cubs did not win Saturday’s game against the Astros, Finucane, 88, celebrated a victory at Wrigley Field.

Finucane rang the bell at the ballgame, marking the end of her cancer treatment journey, to the cheers of thousands of the Wrigley faithful.

For Cary resident Finucane, 88, ringing the bell at the May 23 Chicago Cubs game marked the end of her cancer treatment journey — a milestone made even more unforgettable by the thousands of fans at Wrigley Field cheering her on.

Making the milestone even more meaningful was the presence of her doctor, David Ondrula, a general and colorectal surgeon at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

“I was over the moon,” Finucane said. “I couldn’t believe they selected me.”

Finucane, however, wants her moment at the Friendly Confines to shed light on a serious message: Colon cancer is often highly treatable when found early through screening.

Yet research is still needed, and that is the mission behind Cubs for a Cure, the ballclub’s multiday fundraising initiative, which culminated during Saturday’s game and was presented in collaboration with Advocate Health Care.

Born on Chicago’s North Side during the last year the Cubs faced the Yankees in the World Series, Finucane said Cubs victories keep her going.

She is a faithful television viewer, keeping a handmade box score, tracking every play.

Among her favorite players are Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ and Pete Crow-Armstrong.

“When Armstrong gets on base, he pressures the pitcher from the other team, and I like that,” she said. “When I see him off the base, I watch to see the reaction of the pitcher. It’s entertaining.”

She said other members of her family have been touched by colon cancer. Her daughter Jean Pinones, 59, of Bensenville, who cheered her on from the stands, is undergoing her own treatment at Good Shepherd.

Finucane’s older daughter, Debbie, died from the disease at 56 nearly seven years ago.

According to the family, Debbie did not experience symptoms until her colon burst and doctors found a tumor. She had complained earlier of some stomach discomfort and a general feeling of being unwell, but there were no other obvious warning signs.

Before she died, Debbie made her sister promise to get a colonoscopy.

“Things got postponed and I didn’t do it until I had pain,” Pinones said.

Three years ago, Pinones started to experience back pain she believed was sciatica. But while seeking therapy for her back, doctors discovered a tumor on her spine and later diagnosed her with stage 4 colon cancer that had metastasized.

“Colon cancer is a deadly disease. The symptoms are there, but you can ignore them,” she said.

National screening guidelines recommend beginning colorectal cancer screening at age 45 and earlier for adults with a family history of colon cancer.

Finucane and Pinones said they want others to learn from her family’s experience and proactively ask their doctor to be screened for colon cancer.

I went for a colonoscopy and that’s when they found it (cancer),” Finucane said. “I didn’t have any feelings or anything. I don’t think I had symptoms.”