By Kristy Hutchings, Contributing writer

It began as a dull ache.

Nilton Fonseca’s right breast began hurting in summer 2019. But rather than rush to the doctor, the Redondo Beach resident, now 54 years old, decided to treat the on-and-off aches in his chest with the occasional pain reliever or hot compress.

Fonseca’s home remedies worked for a time.

But in November, intense chest tightness hit three weekends in a row, seemingly resistant to his self-care methods. Fonseca could no longer ignore it.

He feared it was a heart attack.

A trip to urgent care dispelled that concern.

A series of tests followed in the months ahead, spurred by a lump the urgent care doctor discovered. It wasn’t until April 2020 that he received a diagnosis:

Fonseca had breast cancer.

“I was just floored,” Fonseca said. “Why me? That was the first thought that came to my mind.”

He had reason to be floored. Breast cancer in men is rare.

In the United States, about one of every 100 breast cancers are diagnosed in men. Women, however, face a one in eight chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetimes — and breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women, according to the American Cancer Society and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This year alone, the ACS estimates, around 281,550 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in American women — and that around 43,600 will die from the disease.

Breast cancer, no matter who develops it, is a serious and potentially deadly illness that has life-altering impacts.

Read More at dailybreeze.com

Karen Sidney discovered her life’s calling through the sometimes unlikely twists of a second-choice college major in business, a gift in training others — and in the storms of life, a miscarriage in her mid-40s and a shattering diagnosis of breast cancer four years ago.
Today, Sidney, of Hermosa Beach, has used all of that in a free program for other cancer survivors based on Julia Cameron’s best-selling workbook, “The Artist’s Way.”
Born in Burbank and raised in Orange County, Sidney attended USC and moved to the South Bay beach cities of Manhattan and Hermosa, following her then-boyfriend and husband-to-be, Mike. She wound up majoring in business in college after realizing her first choice, education, came against the backdrop of teachers being “laid off, right and left.”
Major in business, she was told, and you could do most anything.
She went into sales and marketing for Xerox Corp., and in her mid-20s, went to Coldwell Banker to train brokers in commercial real estate all over the country.
A turning point came later, when she became pregnant after she and her husband had tried for years to have children. It ended in a miscarriage at 44.
“I was trying to understand why this happened to me,” she said.
She spotted a flier for an “Artist’s Way” meeting at her church, the Redondo Beach Center for Spiritual Living, and thought: “That’s got my name on it.”
That was in 2002.

Read More at  dailybreeze.com

Deborah Patrick has been named the new president of the board of directors of  Cancer Support Community Redondo Beach. CSCRB offers more than 200 free support programs each month for cancer patients and their families.

Patrick is a retired Raytheon engineering manager. She became active in CSCRB in 2013 when her husband was diagnosed with an aggressive esophageal cancer. While participating in CSCRB’s caregiver group to support him, her sister and stepmother were diagnosed with breast cancer. Her husband succumbed to his disease in 2014, and shortly afterwards she faced her own battle with breast cancer. Over a two-year period, CSCRB provided four different support services for her—a caregiver group, bereavement group, individual counseling and a newly diagnosed breast cancer support group. Since the successful treatment for her cancer, Patrick has become a champion for the organization by sponsoring and speaking at CSCRB’s fundraising events and joining the board in 2016.

Read More at EasyReaderNews.com

Aired October 25, 2020: Lisa Foxx from 104.3 MYFM talks to Nancy Lomibao, Program Director/Chief Clinical Officer of CSCRB. Nancy discussed the history of CSCRB and how they have been offering hundreds of support & healing programs to cancer patients and their loved ones for over 33 years all for free. We went into detail about the free classes/programs being offered monthly, everything from bereavement to networking & support groups, educational workshops with doctors, mind & body classes including yoga, Reiki, meditation and more. Like most other charities/non-profits who had to cancel their fundraisers due to COVID, she reminded listeners about giving back via donations on their website.

Read More and Listen to Audio Clip at iHeartradio 104.3 MYFM

Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand, who is battling stage four cancer, was among the speakers last Thursday who expressed their appreciation for Cancer Support Community Redondo Beach (CSCRB). Other speakers included Redondo High surf coach Duncan Avery and his wife Nohea who shared the story of their two children, who are fighting a rare brain cancer that was diagnosed in 2018, at ages four and six.

“Cancer Support Community Redondo Beach brought us a place of comfort,” Duncan Avery said. “It helped us bring our family together and know that we have a place of constant support.”

Ryan and Meghan Juinio expressed similar appreciation whe4n recounted Ryan’s four-year battle with brain cancer and its effect on their family and young daughter.

The talks were delivered at during “Sunset at the Beach,” CSCRB’s first ever virtual fundraiser. The evening was hosted by actor and comedian Mark DeCarlo and netted over $175,000.

“The outpouring of community support was overwhelming. We are humbled by the many sponsors, donors and attendees who contributed so generously despite not being able to have the in-person social interaction and all that goes along with our well known signature events,” said CSCRB Executive Director and CEO Joey Shanahan.

Read More at EasyReaderNews.com

Cancer Support Community Redondo Beach was built on in-person, emotional and social support for cancer patients and their families, but the coronavirus pandemic not only shut down its networking groups and other activities, it also forced the nonprofit to cancel its two major fundraising events, according to executive director/CEO Joey Shanahan.

The nonprofit shifted to Zoom events, but it has not been ideal, Shanahan said.

“The in-person connection is really important when you’re talking to other people with a similar experience when someone’s feeling emotional and needs an arm put around them or a hug,” she said. “Everyone is missing that.”

To replace CSCRB’s signature events, June’s “Celebrate Wellness” and “Girl’s Night Out” which normally takes place in October, they will host their first live stream event, “Sunset at the Beach,” Thursday, Oct. 1 from 6 to 7 p.m.

The free event will be hosted by actor and comedian Mark DeCarlo and will feature cancer survivor stories, live and silent auctions, and an appearance by Redondo Beach Mayor Bill Brand, who has been public about his recent cancer battle.

“The Cancer Support Community of Redondo Beach provides free services to all comers who are dealing with all the challenges a cancer battle brings,” said Brand in an email.

Brand went on to write the 30-year-old nonprofit “represents what is best about the South Bay” staffed with caring and gracious people who always look out for others no matter their race, religion, ethnic origin or circumstance.

Read More at TBRNews.com

REDONDO BEACH, Calif. – Quarantine must be strict for people with weak immune systems because they could easily get sick, and if they get sick it could be devastating.

There is a group of people with weakened immune systems sharing a diagnosis and a virtual connection. They are helping each other not leave home.

Dawn Pfeifer was diagnosed with stage four cancer several years ago. Because of this she hasn’t left her home since January.

See video and read more at SpectrumNews1

While he was planning a 2016 ascent to the 22,841-feet Aconcagua in Argentina, the highest mountain outside of Asia, Mark Parella made a decision.

The climb would be so stupendous, he knew it needed to mean something.

“I wanted it to mean more, for not just me, but for a cause,” said the Hermosa Beach resident.

That same year, Parella’s then-fiancée was diagnosed with Stage 3 leukemia.They were afraid and didn’t know where to turn, he said.

The pair found hope and support by attending weekly meetings at Cancer Support Community of Redondo Beach. While the couple is no longer together, his former fiancée fought and won her cancer battle.

“I came to realize how beneficial and helpful the center was to so many people affected by cancer,” said Parella. “Because the services at CSCRB are free, I wanted to pay it forward and give back for what they had done for me.”

With that in mind, Parella began his campaign Climb Against Cancer.

A serious mountaineer, who reached Mount Everest’s summit in May, Parella wanted his passion to be seen as more than a selfish endeavor.

Read More: The Beach Reporter

Harvey Swartz recalled when he woke up from a 14-hour surgery August 2014, he felt like Darth Vader without his armor.

And like the Sith warrior from Star Wars, Swartz had no voice. Swartz lost 75 percent of his tongue to cancer.  Cedars-Sinai surgeons rebuilt a tongue out of donor tissue from his right arm.

When he went under the anesthesia, he thought doctors would be taking out the tumor. Instead, when he awoke, he felt as if he lost his soul.

“I had tubes sticking out everywhere when I woke up, my new tongue was swollen out of my mouth, I could only communicate through an iPad. It was like being hit by a freight train, totally disorienting and traumatic,” said the former head of security for The Recording Academy.

“I was at square zero and I had to find my way up,” he said.

About 10 months later, after weeks of traditional, but frustrating speech therapy, the Long Beach resident finally found his voice.

And, it came from an unusual source: a street-performing ventriloquist in Santa Monica.

Read More: The Beach Reporter

The Cancer Support Community (CSCRB) celebrated survivorship during 17th annual Girls Night Out “Fun-Raiser” at The Comedy & Magic Club on the evenings of Oct. 1 through Oct. 3. The 600 guests who attended the just-for-ladies fundraiser raised $190,000. Proceeds will fund CSCRB’s many free support programs for cancer patients and their loved ones. Top sponsors included the Jaqueline Glass Family, Dr. Allen and Mrs. Charlotte Ginsburg, Christine Winkler, PhD and Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

Read More: EasyReaderNews