Community Rallies Behind Cancer Stricken Local Woman
Last summer, Brittany DiDonato, 24, went in for a routine medical exam and was told her liver functions were not normal. Surgery was scheduled to remove a cist, and then a large tumor was discovered. The tumor was removed and she was declared cancer-free. A few months ago, DiDonato was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer.
A 2007 graduate of Walter Panas High School and a resident of Garrison, just over the Cortlandt border in Continental Village, DiDonato is a bank teller in Ossining and has a daughter, Lucy Wynn, who turns two in August.
“I have a little girl and I can’t let this affect me too much,” DiDonato said. “I hope to go one day and they say it’s gone.”
With medical bills quickly piling up, DiDonato’s sister Alyssa and friend Brittany Hays met in early April, created a web site www.teambrittany.org and organized a fundraiser April 29 at the Quiet Man Public House in Peekskill that drew about 300 friends and supporters and raised approximately $28,000.
“No amount of money is ever enough, but just to know there is something to fall back on is relieving a little bit of stress,” Hays said. “What she’s going through is not fair. They’re definitely keeping a positive outlook. All this support is coming from people’s hearts.”
The Quiet Man sponsored the entire fundraiser free of charge. D. Bertoline & Sons donated a four-pack of Yankees tickets in their suite, a flat screen television, a bicycle and a golf bag for a raffle, and Speak East Tattoo donated a tattoo for the raffle and one for DiDonato.
Meanwhile, several of DiDonato’s medical bills have been paid from donations from the Hendrick Hudson Leos Club, Dawn’s Ray of Hope, Kathleen F. Marks Memorial Foundation and Suz Crew. This Is Me Foundation donated Team Brittany bracelets.
“It’s nice that so many people care,” DiDonato said. “I’m very grateful.”
DiDonato takes daily oral chemotherapy pills, which she said she will have to do for the rest of her life, and has received treatment at MemorialSloan-KetteringCancerCenter in Sleepy Hollow. Her insurance only covers a portion of her medical expenses.
“Sloan will keep fighting as long as she’s willing to fight,” Hays said.
Neighbors and friends of the DiDonato family have scheduled a benefit dinner Thursday, May 23 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Piazza Roma at the Cortlandt Town Center. Tickets are $100 each, and two-thirds will go directly to help DiDonato. To reserve tickets, email friendsofbrittanyd@gmail.com, or call Debbie at (845) 659-8314.
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
