Community Corner

Peekskill's Quiet Man to Host Fundraiser for Woman with Cancer

Proceeds from the event, which takes place on April 29, will be used to help pay Brittany DiDonato's medical bills. DiDonato, a Philipstown resident, was diagnosed with liver cancer in August.

Brittany DiDonato said one $3,000 medical bill has already come in for a CAT scan and more are on the way.

DiDonato, a 24-year-old resident of the hamlet of Continental Village in Philipstown, was diagnosed with liver cancer in August. The diaganosis was given at about the same time her daughter's, Lucy Wynn Velez, first birthday.

DiDonato said the days following the diagnosis have been whirl of doctor visits, tests and treatments. As overwhelming as it’s all been, she said there is far too much at stake for her to consider giving up now.

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“The emotional stress is always going to be there,” said DiDonato, who graduated from Walter Panas High School in 2007. “The biggest thing is that I want to be there for my daughter…sometimes I think it’s not fair, but I’m not going to stop. I have too much going on to stop.”

A group of her friends are planning a fundraiser from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on April 29 at the Quiet Man Public House, located at 15 N. Division St. in Peekskill. The event will feature live music, a cash bar with guest bartenders and raffles.

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There is a suggested donation of $10 at the door and all tips collected will go toward DiDonato’s medical expenses.

Brittany Hays, one of the organizers of the event, said WHUD on-air personality Kacey has already confirmed that she will attend the event. Hays said she hoped to raise $10,000 through the event.

“We’re expecting 200 or more people to show up,” Hays said. “This has really blown up. We’ve raised $2,700 in less than  a week online. I think $10,000 is definitely a goal that can be reached.”

DiDonato said the doctors have said her form of cancer is incurable.

"My doctor has never seen it in someone in their 20s," DiDonato said. "That makes it a little different. They may call it incurable, but I'm not settling for that."

According to the Mayo Clinic, men are more likely to develop liver cancer than women and the disease is more likely to be diagnosed in older adults in North America, Europe and Australia.

There will be nearly 31,000 new cases and 22,000 deaths from liver cancer in the U.S. this year, according to estimates from the National Cancer Institute.  Many of the people diagnosed will be older than 64.

“They didn’t know it was cancer until they removed the tumor,” DiDonato said. “I had some blood tests done because of elevated liver functions. At first they thought it was just cyst. Later they removed a tumor that was 12 inches long. The next thing I knew, I was off to Sloan Kettering.”

She said her parents, Janice and Joseph, were with her when she heard the news.

“They took it hard,” DiDonato said. “You don’t expect your kids to be diagnosed with something like this.”

DiDonato, who works as bank teller at an M&T Bank branch in Elmsford, said her employer has also been supportive.

 “I have a very good, close circle of friends,” DiDonato said. “They have been the best. It was hard for me to ask for help. I didn’t really want to acknowledge it. But it’s come to the point where I realize that it’s not a bad thing to ask for help.”

Anyone who wants to donate to Team Brittany can do so by go here: www.wepay.com/donations/341157889

Another fundraiser is scheduled to take place on 6 p.m. to 10 pm. on May 23 inside Piazza Roma, located at 3131 E. Main St. in Mohegan Lake.


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