BOSTON (AP) — Former Boston Red Sox president and one-time cancer patient Larry Lucchino has been named chairman of the Jimmy Fund.

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, which oversees the charity that raises money for cancer treatment and research, made the announcement Wednesday.

As chairman, Lucchino will be the charity's lead ambassador and public face, working to strengthen relationships with businesses and professional sports teams and strategizing on policy and fundraising. He will also help highlight the breakthroughs of Dana-Farber doctors and researchers in finding cures.

Lucchino, co-owner and chairman of the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, has been a Dana-Farber trustee since 2003.

In 1985, before his tenure with the Red Sox, Lucchino was treated at Dana-Farber for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The Jimmy Fund, the official charity of the Red Sox, was founded in 1948.