For Stricken Bellmore Woman, Laughter is the Best Medicine

When Alice Foster, a Bellmore mom, was recently diagnosed with stage four lymphoma, she didn’t give up; instead, she firmed her resolve and started down the long road to recovery.

However, Foster isn’t going it alone; friends, family, and supporters packed into The Brokerage Comedy Club on Thursday to share some laughs and help raise money for a good cause.

Rae Zaki, an organizer of the event, said she hopes that the evening’s fundraiser will make her friend’s difficult recovery that much easier.

"We're doing this to help with whatever she's going to need over the next couple of months while she's getting better," she said. "She just had a stem cell transplant and we're hoping that it works and that she recovers."

Foster, mother to four children - two in college, one in high school, and one in elementary - is currently undergoing treatment for her affliction at Stonybrook University Medical Center.

Foster’s mother, Irene, was also on-hand at The Brokerage, and was quite touched by the turnout of supporters.

“It’s just unbelievable that all these people came together to have this fundraiser for my daughter,” she said. “A lot of these people are friends of hers, co-workers, and people from Mepham High School, because she’s very involved in the football team there.”

Those who attended the event were treated to an evening of laughs provided by some talented local comics. Among the funny men who graciously donated their time for this good cause were Joey Kola, Richie Byrne, John Ziegler and Bellmore native Anthony DiDomenico.

"A friend of my mom's is involved with he fundraiser," DiDomenico said. "I lost my mother to cancer, so any time I can help in the fight against it, I'm all for it."

Rae Zaki was not only pleased by the response of Bellmore residents to the fundraiser, but the charity of local businesses as well, many of whom donated items to be raffled off this evening.

"We walked up and down Bedford Avenue, and many of the stores there were happy to help,” she said. “The donated everything from gift cards, movie tickets...a local vet donated a whole workup for your pet if you win. Someone even donated their season tickets for the NY Islanders.”

Irene Foster noted that this is Alice’s second bout with cancer; after vanquishing it once before, she’s hopeful that her daughter can do so a second time...with some help from the family.

“The first time they used her own stem cells and she was in remission for three years. But then the cancer came back,” she said. “This time she used her brother’s stem cells, which are a complete match to hers...we were very, very lucky.”

Cecelia Castellri, another one of the event organizers, knew the owners of The Brokerage and decided it would be the perfect venue to hold Alice’s fundraiser.

“We wanted to turn around something sad to make people happy,” she said. “That’s what Alice is about...she’s full of life. She’s still full of life right now, even as she’s in the hospital.”