'Seshu Strong' Raises $14K for Cancer, Prepares for Next Event

Having exceeded the previous year's Jimmy Fund walk fundraising totals by nearly $2,000, the family and friends of a Grafton teen who died last year are continuing with their cancer-fighting efforts.

"Seshu Strong" is a group formed when 19-year-old Seshu Kandukuri was fighting cancer, and that has grown since the teen died from the disease in March 2012.

Seshu was a recent graduate of Grafton High School when he lost his battle to cancer. He was undergoing chemotherapy treatments in the fall of 2011 when he completed the 26-mile walk for the Jimmy Fund, which donates to Dana-Farber, where he received treatments and acted like an older brother to younger children who were battling the disease. 

His friends and family continued his fight after his death, and raised $14,337 in the 2012 Jimmy Fund Walk: nearly $2,000 more than the 2011 event, in which Seshu partook.

"His spirit and courage are still motivating me, my family and his friends," Seshu's father, Rao K. Kandukuri, said in an email.

On Saturday, March 9, the Seshu Strong team is hosting a "Cancer Awareness Walk," at Grafton High School. Walkers are invited to sign up the walk; proceeds will go to this year's Jimmy Fund walk.

More details are on an event page on Facebook. A flier is attached to this article as a photo.

"With the help of our supporters we are trying to do something to extend the support...that we received from the community," Seshu's father said.

The Seshu Strong website keeps the public informed about past and future fundraising events.

"We are very thankful to our community," Kandukuri said.