Real Talk: Survivor, Patient & Family Stories
Lindsay Sigel There was truly no one like my dad. He was everyone’s “go-to guy;” he was the best problem-solver and counselor, and he never let my two older sisters, my mom, and me down. He and my mom were childhood sweethearts who had been together since they were 15 and were each other’s one […]
Peter BonTempo I unfortunately know what it’s like to face cancer; I’ve survived a rare form of leukemia and lung cancer. People often ask how I found the strength to tackle this disease twice and the answer is simple—I had excellent medical teams, luck, and a determination to fight. However, what I’ve been through pales […]
Dennis Bavaria It breaks my heart that my soulmate, Claire Rose—my wife for 38 years and my best friend—had so little time to enjoy her well-deserved retirement, and we didn’t have the chance to grow old together. In 2013, five months after she retired from her career in human resources at the Department of Agriculture, […]
Todd Zavorskas On Christmas Eve 2009, my mom Lorraine—the most kind-hearted, selfless, and accepting person I’ve ever known—was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Shortly before her diagnosis, she had been involved in a car accident, and a couple of months later she was suffering from abdominal discomfort, which my family assumed was residual pain […]
Throughout Dan Ryckert’s childhood, many of his favorite memories involved spending time with his cousin Matt, who was just two years older than him. They grew up together in Kansas, and he was more of a big brother than a cousin. “Matt introduced me to so many new experiences—video games, outdoor activities like fishing, and […]
This summer, Cook and Kelly Edens will celebrate their 29th wedding anniversary. They don’t take for granted how blessed they are to reach this milestone, and how circumstances could’ve taken a very tragic turn. In 2010, Cook’s internist called with the results of his endoscopy for what he and Kelly thought was acid reflux, and […]
Peter Bernstein My mom, Vivian Bernstein, was the epitome of strength, kindness, and empathy. Her parents survived the Holocaust and escaped Czechoslovakia for a new life in Venezuela after World War II. She was ranked the #1 tennis player in Venezuela in the 1960s. In fact, her first date with my father Danny, who she […]
Chuck Chiaramonte I’m honored to be a part of the Port Jefferson Yacht Club, a small, Long Island-based organization making an impact on research for pancreatic cancer—a devastating disease that more than 64,000 Americans will be diagnosed with this year alone. In 2010, I served as the Commodore of the Port Jefferson Yacht Club, and […]