Christina
In October 2020, at the age of 35, Christina went for her first mammogram, not because she had any symptoms, but only because her mother suggested she get a baseline test. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 Triple Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer, which came as a devastating shock to her and her family. She was immediately sent to Stony Brook Cancer Center and has been in their care ever since. She is immensely grateful to Stony Brook Cancer Center and volunteers for the Cancer Center PFAC as a way to give back to its amazing healthcare team and to be the voice of fellow patients at the Cancer Center. She enjoys being a part of the Cancer Center PFAC because she believes it's a meaningful way to help connect patients, their families and their healthcare team in an effort to enhance the already wonderful patient care experience.
Maroula
As a 3x ironman competitor and super health conscious, it was difficult for Maroula when she received a cancer diagnosis. Finding strength in her survivorship and thanks to the treatment and compassionate care she credits to the Stony Brook Cancer Center medical team, Maroula’s journey to PFAC began first by mentoring another patient with cancer. Together they transitioned through his cancer journey. Maroula too was mentored and this experience gave her strength to stay strong. Maroula is interested in making the cancer journey less cumbersome for patients. Being a member of the Cancer Center PFAC has afforded Maroula the opportunity to be the voice of the patient and help patients along their journey. It has been an honor for Maroula to make a small difference.
Anna
Anna's husband Craig was diagnosed with Leukemia and pneumonia in the depths of COVID and was in a dire situation. As the various teams at Stony Brook worked to get him into remission to plan for a bone marrow transplant, Anna was his sole home caregiver; taking care of his appointments, medications, numerous weekly oncology clinic visits and frequent hospital stays as well as taking care of all of their home matters. Craig's battle lasted 14 months and unfortunately he was not able to beat the leukemia but the experience left Anna with the desire to continue to stay connected and contribute to the Cancer Center to make the experience easier for other caregivers/patients. She has also spend her professional career in Human Resources, so being part of the PFAC seems a natural fit.