Angela’s Warriors battles breast cancer in late victim’s honor

Angela’s Warriors raised awareness of breast cancer, and money to fight the disease, last month.

Patricia Spampanato, of Freeport, founded Angela’s Warriors earlier this year when her best friend, Angela Isernia, lost her 11-year-long battle against the disease at age 53.

Isernia, who was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in 2011, died in March. Since then, Spampanato has made it her mission to raise money for the nonprofit American Cancer Society.

“I was always with her for treatments and everything — even the surgeries,” Spampanato said. “I don’t think anybody should fight cancer alone. So I decided to join the American Cancer Society … to help get donations.”

Angela’s Warriors raised money through two events in October, the first a breast cancer awareness event on Oct. 15 at the Helm Restaurant on Guy Lombardo Avenue, organized by Spampanato. She canvassed Freeport businesses for donations, and asked for gift certificate or gift baskets that could be given away at the event. In addition to gift vouchers and more than two dozen gift baskets, there were several unique prizes, including tickets for a Keith Urban show at UBS Arena, family passes to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania, tickets to Adventureland — and an autograph from Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, of whom Isernia was a longtime fan.

“The whole time Angela was battling cancer, she was still a big Giants fan,” Spampanato said. “So we wrote to the New York Giants, and they gave me Daniel Jones’s autograph to donate. So that was a big plus to us.”

Spampanato also designed a T-shirt that was sold online to commemorate her friend and attract more donations. The breast cancer ribbon and “Angela’s Warriors” were emblazoned on the front of the gray shirts, which were not only sold at the Helm Restaurant event, but also promoted online all month.

“I want to thank all my friends, family and all those who came to the event at the Helm, helping raise a combined total of $4,127 towards breast cancer awareness,” Spampanato said.

The second fundraising effort of month was Angela’s Warriors’ participation in the 29th annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk on Oct. 16 at Jones Beach, the day after the gala at the Helm. The walk is the American Cancer Society’s biggest breast cancer initiative in the country, attracting over 60,000 walkers — cancer survivors, volunteers and supporters. The theme is saving lives, remembering those who have been lost to the disease, raising funds for a breast-cancer-free future and, in the meantime, making sure no one goes through breast cancer alone.

“Patricia … started her team for our Making Strides Against Breast cancer walk for her friend Angela, who unfortunately lost her battle this past March after 11 years,” the society’s development manager, Stephanie Robb, said. “So she wanted to start her team. … But she also wanted to raise some funds for our critical research and programming, and they were able to raise over $4,000.”

The 109-year-old organization funds cancer research and supports cancer patients and their patients in a variety of ways, including offering free transportation to doctors’ appointments and chemotherapy treatments, free accommodations as part of its Road to Recovery program, and a live 24/7 helpline and other resources at cancer.org.

“Having Angela’s warriors and her team … come together for this great cause not only helps support those communities that we have, but also provides hope to our community of survivors,” Robb said. “Patricia recognizes that and wants to continue to support (us), and we truly could not do it without these wonderful team leads in our community that fight against breast cancer.”

Spampanato plans to continue pushing for breast cancer awareness in her friend’s memory for many years to come. She is looking forward to another fundraiser at the Helm next year, and plans to make it even larger and grander, with live music by local bands and more prizes.

“Everybody should get their yearly mammogram,” she said. “Getting these donations and doing fundraisers (will) bring more money, and maybe one day we can beat breast cancer.”