A woman who survived two cancers builds a foundation to help other families facing health nightmares. In 2011, she created "Friends & Angels: The Tracy Vicere Foundation" with her mom and two friends' help.
Supporting the Hospital That Helped Her
Tacy Vicere's foundation supports Cohen Children's Medical Center in Queens' patients and their families in their health journey. It focuses on patients in the oncology, hematology, and bone marrow transplant unit of the hospital that saved her from the deadly disease she had years ago.
The foundation has raised more than $150,000 via an annual fundraiser since the founding. Apart from the hundreds of patients and families, it also helps Cohen Children's survivors using her resources, donations, programs, and events.
The 47-year-old cancer survivor told "PEOPLE" that she is lucky to be there. She explained that whenever she is feeling sad, Vicere would go through her medical records and be in awe at how she could survive them all.
She believes that she was spared from the scary disease to give back to the community that had helped her.
Diagnosed With Hodgkin's Lymphoma
Vicere learned that she has stage 3A Hodgkin's lymphoma at the age of 16. Doctors also diagnosed her with stage 1A non-Hodgkin's lymphoma during that time. Their family heard of the bad news seven months after her sister had finished her treatment for the same illness.
Vicere recalled that she was scared to believe about what she had heard from the doctors. Although she was afraid of the unknown, knowing the staff at the hospital had relieved her anxieties.
September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a time to acknowledge the thousands of children and their families who... Posted by Friends & Angels: The Tracy Vicere Foundation, Inc. on Thursday, September 3, 2020
Letting her bring her pillow, comforter, and decorations during her hospital stay had also helped her feel at ease. On July 5, 1990, Vicere went into official remission after one year of treatment. Since then, she has remained cancer-free, which let her celebrate her 30th anniversary free from the disease.
Vicere went to college, and then she became a special education teacher. Sadly, doctors diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis in June 2009. A year later, she had thought about the idea for the foundation she has now.
After brainstorming with her mother and two best friends for months, Vicere got the foundation named and organized. Apart from that, she also had it certified with the IRS, and it started running.
"Friends & Angels" started its first fundraiser and raised $4,000 by October 2011. Since then, it has grown to hundreds of volunteers and had raised $18,000 in last year's event. The foundation is helping patients to decorate the room to make it feel homier.
It creates scrapbooks and surgical dolls for patients, and it also provides toiletry bags to families. It hosts holiday events and movie nights and donates games, toys, crafts, and technology.
It also helps survivors in the survivorship program by organizing medical binders. It also sponsors the Helping Our Peers Endure Stress (HOPES) program to help with the hospital staff's emotional health.
At her school, teachers gave a surprise donation that helped Vicere raise thousands of dollars because COVID had stopped her fundraiser this year. Vicere continues to manage her M.S. and lead her organization even though there is a pandemic.
