Wallingford Native Battles Breast Cancer, Friends Rally Around Her

WALLINGFORD, CT — A Wallingford native has been battling breast cancer for nearly six years and friends are rallying around her with an upcoming fundraising event along with launching a GoFundMe campaign.

Deb (Levine) Diaz, 46, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 and then four years later, as she was moving to Florida with a new job and a fiancé, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer in the lining of her lungs.

A GoFundMe page, titled “Dancing for Deb,” has been created by Peter Gouveia to “help Deb pay for her mounting medical expenses as she courageously fights this terrible disease.”

On April 1, Diaz’s friends will sponsor a fundraiser event to help defray the costs of the mounting medical expenses, most of which are not covered by any insurance, according to the page.

"Dancing for Deb" will take place at the Four Points Sheraton Hotel in Meriden, beginning at 7 p.m.

“Please join us for light appetizers, dessert, cash bar, and '80s music played by an amazing DJ,” the post reads on the GoFundMe page. “There will be gift baskets, a 50-50 drawing, and an auction. Tickets are $30.00 each and can be purchased through Peter Gouveia at dancingfordeb@gmail.com.”

Diaz is a Lyman Hall graduate and the event is being organized by several of her classmates, according to the Meriden Record-Journal.

The DJ of the event is Christina Palmer, a cancer survivor herself, who is known on the air as Lady Rose and she plans to broadcast the event on her online station, WMFR Metal Fortress Radio, which streams 24 hours a day out of Newington, according to the Record-Journal.

Diaz wrote on the GoFundMe page that she’s “scared this horrible disease will take a turn in a manner I can’t control. I worry about all the medical bills and what will happen if I can’t pay for them.”

However, she plows through because she has the “most amazing support system.”

“I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for,” she writes. “I appreciate the love and support they give to not just me, but also to my daughter and husband. he calls, the hugs, the warm bed to sleep in when we travel back home, the smell of coffee, the supportive conversations, and the random cards that arrive just when I start to lose hope -- these are the simple things in life that mean the most.

“I am so thankful to so many, and the acts of kindness that have been shown are indescribable and beyond anything I could ever imagine. I am very grateful for this amazing event and those who have taken the time and put forth so much energy to help me pay for the things I need so I can continue to fight this horrible disease. I will never give up, and I will continue to fight each day with all the strength God has given me.”

Read more of Diaz’s story in her own words at the GoFundMe page here.

Photo via GoFundMe