A group of 10 cancer patients and their families thought they were going to a meet-and-greet with former Patriots star offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi, who is also a cancer survivor.
Andruzzi and his wife, Jen, did indeed meet with them Thursday morning at Sturdy Health Cancer & Specialty Care Building in Attleboro.
But they also each got a big surprise: a $1,000 Stop & Shop gift card and a free year of Poland Spring water, courtesy of the Joe Andruzzi Foundation.
The patients were “beaming with smiles and tears of joy,” said Jen Andruzzi, the president and CEO of the foundation that provides support for cancer patients.
The Andruzzi family knows full well the financial and emotional costs of going through cancer treatment.
In 2007, Joe Andruzzi’s football career came to an abrupt end after he was he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Burkitt’s lymphoma.
Andruzzi said it was a “very, very lonely” experience for the three-time Super Bowl champ’s family.
“You don’t want to burden anybody, and some friends and family stick around, and some don’t know how to react, so they kind of back away,” she said.
For many families, “just knowing people are there” is a big help, Andruzzi said.
Since 2023, the foundation has partnered with Stop & Shop to provide a calendar year’s worth of free groceries to a cancer patient.
But, this year, the supermarket chain and the foundation decided to change it up and “spread the love” to more people, Jen Andruzzi said.
Each patient received their grocery gift card, and the year supply of water that Poland Spring will provide through its delivery service, Customer Direct.
The high cost of living is especially hard on cancer patients and their families who often face hefty medical costs.
“Hopefully this can offset some of those costs that they have, everyday costs, but also then offset the costs that are going to help with their cancer treatment and their cancer care,” Andruzzi said.
Providing the support to the patients and their families was a “very humbling” experience, she said.
“I don’t get choked up too often when I speak,” Andruzzi said. “The whole morning went great, talking about the partners and the foundation, and when it got to that moment when we were able to share the surprise of why we were there I did get choked up, and I haven’t done that in a long time.”
Stop & Shop and Poland Spring also presented the foundation with checks for $25,000.
“It was a great day,” Andruzzi said.
Adam Sennott can be reached at adam.sennott@globe.com.