Cancer charity honors Floral Park family

Lisa Fusco understood that she was at risk for cancer.

Both of her parents are survivors. Her mother, Barbara Vernale, fought two bouts of breast cancer seven years apart; and her father, Michael Vernale, won a battle against prostate cancer about three years ago.

But Fusco, 28, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2009, never thought she would be fighting the same fight as her parents at such a young age.

“At 26, you think you’re so untouchable,” she said. “If it was going to happen to me, I thought I’d be old.”

Fusco, who grew up in Floral Park where her parents still live, said she was lucky to have not just the support of her family and friends, but to have her parents as role models throughout the ordeal.

On Sunday, Fusco, who now lives in Bayside, gave a tearful “thank you” to her support system as she accepted the “Survivor of the Year” award at the Susan G. Komen Race for a Cure in Central Park in Manhattan.

Dara Richardson-Heron, chief executive of the Komen Greater New York City Race for the Cure, said Fusco was chosen for the award after turning her struggle into an opportunity to raise money for the cause. In the midst of her chemotherapy treatments, Fusco organized a benefit party at Belmont Park, which she called “Lisa’s Pink Party”.

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This year, she held the second annual event and to date has raised nearly $15,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

“She is an incredible person,” said Barbara Vernale before Sunday’s race, an event that her family has participated in every year since her first diagnosis. “She started the Pink Party while she was going through chemo and it’s just going to keep growing.”

Fusco said her own diagnosis shocked her, to say the least. The year she was diagnosed was the same year she was married, went on her honeymoon and got a job teaching health at Adelphi University.

She found the lump in her breast and tried to dismiss it, but eventually had a sonogram at the insistence of her husband and mother. A few weeks later she got the news: it was triple-negative breast cancer — an aggressive form of the disease that shows up most often in younger women. She would need a bilateral mastectomy and was told her chemotherapy treatments could cause fertility problems.

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“I went absolutely numb,” she said. “There were depressing moments.”

One of the things she remembers from that time is her brother, Anthony, telling her to think of her cancer as a football field and take it one yard at a time.

“All of the support is the only thing that got me through,” she said.

Recognizing the strength and perseverance it takes someone to be that support system for someone with cancer, the Susan G. Komen organization also awards someone as “Co-Survivor of the Year,” at the start of every race.

For the first time, this year’s “Survivor” awards were presented to two people in the same family.

After his daughter left the podium on Sunday, Michael Vernale received a surprise when his name was called as “Co-Survivor of the Year.”

Vernale accepted the honor with a simple “thanks,” but later added that he was proud of his wife and daughter and was completely surprised by the award.

“When has a kid from the Bronx ever been speechless?” he asked.

His wife and daughter described Michael Vernale as the rock of their family, and a constant source of strength throughout each of their battles.

Actress Gabrielle Union, a Susan G. Komen for the Cure ambassador, presented Vernale with his award. She said it was not just a show of recognition for Vernale, but a sign of appreciation for all the people who stand on the sidelines cheering.

“When you get to the finish line,” she said. “It’s that high five that means the world.”