Page 4 - Healthcare News Sept.-Oct. 2020

Raising Awareness — and Hope
Sandy Cassanelli Wages an Intense, Inspiring Breast-cancer Fight
By George O’Brien
Sandy Cassanelli says she has a number of initiatives going on this October when it comes to breast cancer, raising awareness of this disease — and raising money to fight it.
That list includes sales of pink breast- cancer-awareness masks, donations from the proceeds of sales of certain items at
her business to support research for a cure, staging a virtual road race and raffle, and a host of other events.
But for her, breast-cancer awareness isn’t a one-month, once-a-year matter.
“My family always says that, unfortu- nately, every day is breast-cancer awareness day in our house,” said Cassanelli, who
is battling stage-4 breast cancer and is, at present, involved in a new clinical trial of
a treatment she says is showing promise, at least when it comes to her own condition.
“In September, when I had scans, we found out that the medicine I was tak- ing since January had stopped working and that my cancer was growing,” she explained. “After many tests and many
visits to Dana-Farber, we decided that I would enroll in an immunotherapy clinical trial.
“I’ve been going to Boston every other week for infusions,” she went on. “I’m doing well, and I have minimal side effects, but it is challenging going to Boston every other week by yourself. Usually, my gut is generally right about my treatments and whether they’re working or not, and I have a really good feeling that this is working.”
Cassanelli’s long battle against breast cancer, which began when she was diagnosed four years ago, has certainly become a high-profile fight being waged on a number of fronts. There
is her own personal encounter, which has seen a number of twists and turns, ups and downs, as most do. There’s also her efforts to promote aware-
ness of the disease and raise funds for research — with both initiatives carried out through the Breast Friends Fund, which, to date, has raised more than $550,000 in its first five years, with a
Sandy Cassanelli and her husband, Craig, display some of the items for which their company, Greeno Supply, will donate a portion of sales to the Breast Friends Fund, as well as pink masks that are also on sale to benefit the fund.
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4 WWW.HEALTHCARENEWS.COM SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020