Noelie had his scans on Wednesday, March 12 and despite his intense fear of needles ... he was super, super brave. He didn’t cry, he didn’t scream. He didn’t even flinch. He just stuck his little hand out and said, " Just do it. "

These words appeared in an e-mail to John Harnois on March 21. At the time, Harnois, 30, a Belmont accountant who’d signed up for Team in Training, a fitness-training group that raises money for cancer research, had just begun to follow the treatment of Noel Reed, a six-year-old boy from Avon who’s battled Hodgkin’s lymphoma since last May. The e-mail detailed the CAT and bone scans that Noelie, as he’s called, had to undergo to determine whether the disease has resurfaced. And these poignant words have proven to be quite an inspiration for Harnois, who’ll participate in a June 14 triathlon in Hyannis for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

" Noel is just amazing, " Harnois says of Reed, whose mother, Sarah, sends Harnois e-mail updates about her son’s condition on a weekly basis. (Sarah Reed is a former staff writer for the Boston Phoenix. Her last name at that time was McNaught.) " Even though he’s going through some heart-wrenching stuff " — intense chemotherapy and nine surgeries — " he can see the brighter side of things. He calls us his ‘heroes,’ but we’re the ones looking up to him because he’s given us unlimited motivation. "

The " us " to which Harnois refers is the Hyannis-based Team in Training. A part of the Lymphoma Society, Team in Training coaches people to take part in marathons and triathlons to raise money for cancer cures. This year, Harnois and his 80-plus fellow teammates have named Reed their " honored hero, " which means they will run, swim, and bike the Spring 1 Hyannis Triathlon next month, with Reed’s name and face, in Harnois’s words, " plastered all over our bodies. "

Before the day of the big race, of course, Harnois has to raise some funds. And he has set a lofty goal for himself — $10,000, of which he’s collected $5000 so far. To line the coffers even further, he’s turning toward a more entertaining way to generate cash than the usual donation letter: a comedy benefit. Harnois, who works at the Boston-based Lyons Group, which manages finances for 17 local bars and restaurants, has arranged a night of laughter to benefit this year’s Team in Training — and, most especially, young Noel Reed. For $30 a ticket, people can eat, drink, and yuk it up as they listen to six local comics. The line-up includes Tim McIntire and Carolyn Plummer, both of Comedy Studio and Comedy Central’s Laugh Riots fame, among others.

Harnois is hoping to pack the 180-seat room at Jake Ivory’s, where the fundraiser will occur next Wednesday night. If he does, he’ll be able to greet Reed at the finish line on June 14 with a big, fat check — something he imagines doing every time he opens an e-mail update. As he says, " Once you read an e-mail, you want to run out and raise more money for Noel. He’s a great motivator. "

John Harnois’s night of comedy to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28, at Jake Ivory’s, 9 Lansdowne Street, in Boston. Tickets cost $30. Call Jake Ivory’s at (617) 247-1222 or e-mail Harnois at jharnois@lyonsgroup.com to reserve a spot.