2nd Annual Cancer Research Fundraiser!!!

That time of year again...

Come on out for a Summer Send-off with great music, food and drink and support a great cause that is near and dear to my heart...Cancer Research. Thankfully this year I am willing AND able to help coordinate the second of many annual events. This year we've secured 2 huge tents (thanks to Joe Stellato) to put 2 great bands under to make it twice as good as last year! My friends Lou, Scott & Jim from the Lou Franco Project will be back for their second year and we've added another awesome band called Geerbox featuring the amazing vocals of my buddy Billy Geer. If you like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC, Billy’s vocals will blow you away! Just like last year, Steph, Dan and the crew from 99.9 The Hawk are teaming up to throw another party with some more great raffle prizes and giveaways. Dentists will be on hand as well as my Oncologist Dr. Sanjiv Agarwala (Chief Oncologist of St. Luke’s Hospital) to talk about the importance of oral cancer screenings and the latest developments in oral cancer and melanoma treatments. Dr Agarwala is one of the leading local pioneers in clinical cancer research and trials in the Lehigh Valley. Some of those trials were used in my treatments that helped ease some of the traditional side effects of radiation and chemo, but there is still a long way to go.

Come out and join me in celebrating with fellow cancer survivors while remembering those less fortunate who lost their battle and help us exceed the $3,500 that Steph, Dan and The Hawk raised last year to help beat cancer. 100% of all money raised through raffles plus 20% of all Outback Steakhouse’s food sale proceeds from the day will go directly to St. Luke’s Cancer Center. Help us make a difference – See you on September 19th – and remember, get there early and stay late…you won’t want to miss a song from either of these two phenomenal bands!!!! I got my tambourine ready :-) Let’s send off the summer with a bash to remember. Oh, and there is a real good possibility that the Nancy Run Fire Department will have a fire truck on hand for the kids!

This is a rain or shine event (that’s why we got the huge tents!) and don’t forget to bring a lawn chair or blanket. If you can’t make it to the event and would like to make a donation, please make your check payable to St. Luke’s Cancer Center and send it or any other donations to 99.9 The Hawk, Attn: Steph Alteiri, 107 Paxinosa Road West, Easton, PA 18040.

More info at www.999thehawk.com Click on Events, Your Community and scroll down and look for Outback Steakhouse logo.

Thanks for your support – Fred Donatelli

CANCER FREE AFTER 1 YEAR!!

So why not spend some quality time at the beach? Well actually we took the vacation a little earlier in anticipation of the news! The family spent a short week in our old summer stomping grounds of North Wildwood at the Regency towers. I also had a chance to re-live some childhood memories when we took a quick jaunt to my old stomping grounds of Somers Point, NJ where I lived and went to kindergarten at the ripe old age of 5. Dana and I then spent a weekend getaway with some old college cronies to celebrate our 50th birthdays.

I would have liked to have posted the news of being cancer free on 7/21, the actual date of my last radiation treatment, but had one more procedure to take care of before I could be absolutely confident in my statement above. You see my 4th PET/CT scan I had done about 2 weeks ago showed complete resolution and no activity whatsoever in the head/neck area which was most welcomed news…but it seems there’s always a but…but the CT scan showed “thickening of the duodenum wall (an area at the very top of your small intestines) and the PET was lighting up in that area”. Just fabulous. So it was recommended I have an “EGD” scope. Same type procedure I had done and from the same Doctor when I had my feeding tube put in. Pretty simple procedure actually (only takes about 5 minutes) but waiting a week to have it done and get the results was the stressful part. When I woke up, I was EXREMELY relieved to hear that everything looked normal!!

As of now, I have pretty much had every orifice of my body scoped, checked or inspected with the exception of one. While THAT procedure will come soon enough, I feel so much relief and have much confidence that I am truly free of the big C! I have been busy planning a 32nd year high school class reunion/50th birthday party (will have attended quite a few of these this year!) and have been so looking forward to seeing everybody and was not going to let ANYTHING get in the way of attending that on 8/7…God knows when we’ll ever have this chance again!

On a side note…During the past week or two, we got some news that Dana’s father was in the hospital for stomach pains…then there was a possibility he had a stroke…then it was determined that he needed to have his gall bladder removed…but then they said they couldn’t do the operation because he may have had a stroke…after some testing, it was determined he did have a stroke but it was from some former point in time and the (out of sorts) symptoms were a result of the Morphine and other drugs they had him on…so, the operation was back on & he ended up having his gall bladder removed on Thursday…it was full of gangrene and had they let it go much longer, it could have burst and he could have died… However, at last report as of this morning from Linny, the surgery was a success and the fact they managed to do it laparoscopically, will shorten the recovery time and he will be fine.

Finally, about my Retinal Vein Occlusion… on second thought, let’s save that for another post and just hope the blockage clears!

Cheers - Fred

What a Difference a Year Makes!

It has been about 6 months since my last post and no news has been good news! It seems like just yesterday I was diagnosed, while in reality it was just over 1 year ago I was in the hospital having needles inserted in my neck collecting cells! In fact, it was one year ago TODAY that I first met with Dr. Bui (radiation oncologist) and Dr. Agarwala (oncologist) and the "treatment plan" was laid out to me. Since then, I've had a life altering experience that hopefully has made me a stronger and better person.

I had my 3rd PET/CT scan back in mid March and again, I am so glad to say it was as good as could possibly be. Drs. Yen, Agarwala & Deb are all very encouraged with my results and all but one area in my throat has TOTALLY resolved itself and the only area showing any "levels of activity" has been reduced to almost nothing. This area has been attributed to the healing process which STILL continues. I was given the option of waiting 3 months or 6 months before my next scan and chose to compromise at 4 months. I am now scheduled for July 9th.

The side effects that I've previously mentioned are still with me and I have been taking a drug called Saligen for the past 4 months to help produce saliva. It seems as though it may be helping a bit and Dr. Yen said it could be a year from the end of my treatments before I start to see a change. I am holding out hope as that day is July 21 (a day I will always remember!). My sense of taste also seems to be giving me hope too as things are starting to taste a little better as well.

I hate to complain, especially after recently attending two funerals in 2 days. The first was Sally "Christie" Murphy's who bravely battled lung cancer for 3 years and lost her battle at the young age of 48 and the second was Winnie Erdman who lost her battle to pancreatic cancer. I also had attended a funeral just over 2 years ago for my high school buddy's brother, his name was Steve Jubinsky. Steve was just 45, a few years younger than us and I remember saying to myself, what a horrible way to leave this world...Steve had lost his battle with the SAME cancer that I had. I count my blessings everyday and pray for a cure. I pray for all those battling this terrible disease and for those that lost the battle as well as their families.

I am also very grateful to have reached the 1/2 century mark this past Saturday. What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time I was in no mood to celebrate a birthday, let alone anything. I was having a few crazy thoughts about whether I would even be around to see this 50th birthday... so when people ask "how does it feel to be 50?", my response is "pretty damn good!". My wife and kids made it extra special too...Dana got me 2 tickets to game 6 of the Flyers game against Boston last Wednesday; then a nice night out on Friday with an old friend; then a nice "Surprise" dinner at Prime (old Steak & Ale) with my family superceded by another "Surprise" gathering that awaited me at the Sands casino on Saturday night. I couldn't have asked for more!!

I am truly blessed and hope to only have to update this blog with continued good news after each of my future PET/CT scans. Until then...God Bless