Community Corner

South Brunswick Mother Finds Hope in Fight With Breast Cancer

Diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer, Cheryl Confalone decided to help others faced with the same hardship.

When faced with a devastating diagnosis like breast cancer, people may understandably find a cascade of different emotions crashing top of them. South Brunswick resident Cheryl Confalone was no different, except when she received her diagnosis, Confalone found hope.

Living in South Brunswick for nearly 30 years, Confalone and her husband have operated a holistic healthcare practice since 1989. But soon after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2010, Confalone gained a new perspective on the difficulties faced by so many fighting the same battle as her.

"I realized what benefits I had that other people didn't have," Confalone said. "When push comes to shove, there's not a lot of help for people fighting cancer unless it's a child or somebody who's eligible for social services assistance. But if you don't fit into those categories, there's not a lot of help out there. We need some kind of support for middle income families."

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Being self-employed, Confalone said her health insurance left a lot to be desired. Coupled with aggressive chemo treatments that left her unable to work, Confalone said she realized how lucky she was to have the support of her family and three grown children. She began to reflect on the impact of cancer for people who don't have the same kind of support system.

"It felt like there was something necessary we needed to do to fill in the gaps," she said. "It's like when somebody dies and everyone is there for you through the wake and funeral, but then it's two weeks later and people start to go back to their normal lives when you still need them. Cancer is like that, it wears a lot of people out and it runs you down. Except it lasts a long time."

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With her own battle as the impetus, Confalone and her family started the Day by Day Hope Foundation, a group that provides help with day to day needs for those battling cancer, in addition to assisting with financial, legal and insurance issues. The foundation also offers assistance in everything from yard work to grocery shopping for those who need help.

"Right now we're trying to get one patient a car because they had their car repossessed thanks to the financial impact of fighting terminal cancer," Confalone said. "This guy only has a few weeks left to live, but he has no vehicle to leave for his wife and kids."

Confalone said that middle class citizens fighting cancer might not realize what kind of help is available to them. In addition, insurance companies do not offer the kind of assistance needed when battling a terminal illness.

"Insurance hurdles are hard to deal with and I've been in the field for 30 years," she said. "I had to fight them, even though I know what I'm doing. But it's hard because I'm sick. I had to say to them I don't owe this money, you do. Daily injections cost $3,000 a month. For some people that can come down to do I pay for my medicine or do I pay my mortgage. If I didn't know what I know, I could've paid thousands more than I should have. Insurance companies do this everyday.”

Confalone added that her own cancer treatments taught her how easily patients can take simple tasks for granted.

"People need help with food and housework, which is really difficult when you're sick by the way," she said. "I've been sick for more than a year and I've watched my family run around and try to feed me and take care of me. They planted flowers in the spring because they knew it was important to me and I just couldn't do it. I'm lucky to have a lot of great people who have stood by me, which isn't easy because this has been a long debilitating illness."

Through her own connections, Confalone has put together in the Day by Day Hope Foundation a team of volunteers to assist in every aspect of the fight against cancer. The foundation helps with every patient’s varying needs, from simple daily tasks to offering free legal work from lawyers who assist in dealing with insurance issues and hurdles.

"This is going to be an ever evolving foundation that will change to fit the needs of whoever needs help," she said. "If you're a young mother who needs help with the kids, or if you're an older person who needs help with housework. We had one patient with no health insurance and no money. We got him a doctor to treat him for free. We got him a hospital bed and a walker for nothing. He only lasted six weeks, but this is the kind of support we provide."

The only prerequisite for assistance from the foundation is people can't be eligible for aid from social services. Confalone said the foundation would evolve accordingly to serve the need of any family.

"I know what hurts the most for a mother and I'm trying to fix that for somebody else," she said. "The foundation keeps my head going. I can't sit on a sofa and watch TV all day. This helps me feel like I'm active and doing something."

The Day by Day Hope Foundation will be holding its Part of the proceeds from gifts purchased will be donated to the foundation, and shoppers will also have a chance to win a special gift courtesy of Claire.

Ultimately, Confalone said her hope is for the foundation to continue to grow and help fill a need for so many dealing with the hardships of cancer.

"My radiation oncologist said this has been a piece of the puzzle that's been missing forever," she said. "He has a lot of patients who are in their forties with young kids. It's a real burden. So I just want to try and help fix that for someone else and give them hope."

Click here for more information on the Day by Day Hope Foundation, or click here to visit their Facebook page.


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