Quiet Man Hosts 2nd Annual Fundraiser for Woman with Liver Cancer

More than 200 people turned out last year to a fundraiser for Brittany DiDonato at the Quiet Man Public House in Peekskill—and her friends hope the support group will just get bigger when they repeat the event on May 12. 

One of the organizers, Brittany Hayes, gave Patch this update on DiDonato:

Over a year ago Brittany went for some testing to get life insurance for her now two year old daughter Lucy.  Then a healthy 23 year old, a prequalifying medical exam should have been a piece of cake.  Brittany received a call that her results from the testing had come back and her liver functions were through the roof.  Thinking this was odd she went for further testing and it was discovered that she had a tumor but they were not sure of the location.  She underwent exploratory surgery to have the tumor removed and the doctors found a 5 pound (yes 5 pounds on her tiny frame!) tumor attached to her liver and it was not known at this point if the tumor was cancerous. To our dismay the tumor was cancerous, the news hitting her and her family what felt like a knife stabbing them in the chest.

Thinking that the surgery had removed the all the cancer from Brittany’s body, she thought she was cancer free.  At her three month check-up in January of this year, Brittany was told that new tumors had formed and that she had an aggressive form of liver cancer.  This news was devastating, how does a healthy 24 year old get cancer?

She has been undergoing various forms of treatment, her latest being intravenous chemotherapy where she has to travel into NYC each week to get treatment and meet with doctors.  The chemotherapy has caused her to lose her hair and debilitates her for a few days after treatment.  This would be challenging for anyone to undergo but it makes it even more difficult to have an energetic two year old daughter to take care of in the process.

Throughout everything Brittany has been faced with over the past few months she continues to stay extremely positive and she always has the most captivating smile on her face that could light up any room. She shows resilient bravery in the face of adversity finding a way to make everyone around her at ease, even though we should be the ones comforting her! 

The May 12 fundraiser is from 5-10 p.m. May 12. The Quiet Man is located at 15 North Division Street Peekskill, NY 10566.

For more details on the event please visit the Team Brittany Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/teambrittd.