Local woman hosting breast cancer awareness event
By Christine Haines
chaines@yourmvi.com
When Donna Guadagni’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer more than 30 years ago, it was the family’s first experience with the disease.
“My mom was 59 when she was diagnosed,” Guadagni said. “She didn’t even live a full three years. She didn’t have any chemo and just a lumpectomy. It was the first time we’d heard of cancer in our family. Then my sister was diagnosed. It was very heartbreaking to lose them both.”
Guadagni said her mother, Bessie DiLuca of Glassport, wasn’t given any medication to prevent the return of her cancer. Her sister, Cathy Stecak, received tamoxifen. It’s been 15 years since she passed away.
“My poor sister was diagnosed at 42 and she lived 14 years,” Guadagni said. “They’ve come a long way in treatment and diagnosis.”
Guadagni said her family started raising money for cancer research through the annual Walk for the Cure before branching out on their own to host a fundraising event. At first it was just auction baskets at her beauty shop, Salon G’onna in Swiss Alpine Village in Elizabeth, then she started hosting breast cancer awareness events. This is her 20th year.
“The past four years, we belong to the Sons of Italy in Glassport, and we held an event there that had gotten pretty big,” Guadagni said. “Because of the coronavirus, we can’t do that this year.”
Instead, Guadagni is hosting a breast cancer awareness event Oct. 24 in a tent outside of her salon starting at 1:30 p.m. There will be light refreshments, a basket auction, raffles, door prizes, and a limited number of vendors due to space limitations. For a $5 donation, Guadagni will provide pink hair extensions for adults and children.
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