Island of Hope: Denise Filosofos' story

Story and Photo by Alice Gerard

Senior Contributing Writer

Denise Filosofos, who was named one of two honorary survivors in this year’s Relay For Life, is feeling optimistic, despite experiencing her third bout of cancer.

“I had breast cancer in 1998 and again in 2017,” Filosofos said.

And now, this two-time survivor is battling pancreatic cancer.

“My cancer now is BRCA2 positive pancreatic cancer. Which means that I’m positive for the BRCA2 gene, which is a breast cancer gene,” said Filosofos, who is currently living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“There’s BRCA1 and BRCA2,” Filosofos explained. “BRCA2 means you are susceptible to all the female cancers: breast, ovarian, uterine. Pancreatic cancer is the hidden cancer. I didn’t know anything about that, but the doctors here told me, ‘You’re BRCA2 positive.’ It’s a good thing because, down here at the hospital that I’m going to, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Institute, they have a doctor whose only thing is to research BRCA2 patients. He’s found a concoction, and he’s found a treatment for anyone who is BRCA2 positive. They’re telling me that people who have this kind of cancer get through treatments easier, have a longer outcome after the treatments. They’re telling me now, if I can get through the treatments, all I’ll have to do is take a pill every day for the rest of my life that only BRCA2 patients can take. It will only work on BRCA2 patients. That’s why I chose to stay here. When I first talked to the doctor, he was explaining things to me. If he's working on my team, that’s even more impressive to me.

“The facility is great. I belong to an organization that raises money for it, and that’s how I got to know about it. When this came up, I called them, and they said, ‘Yep, come on in. We’ll take care of you. We’ll get things going’ and blah blah blah.”

The treatment for this most recent cancer has been difficult, Filosofos related. “The chemo can be tough. The breast cancer was a lot easier than what I’m going through now. I think the first time, I did eight treatments. The second time, I only did four treatments. With this, I’m on my 12th treatment now. I still have two, possibly six treatments left.

“It’s kicking my @ss. It’s tough, but I’ll get through it. The doctors are giving me good news.”

Filosofos related that, after a recent visit with the doctor, she was told, “We’re starting to get to that point where we can just give you the pill, and you’re on your way.’ I said, ‘Well, that’s what I’m looking forward to, too.’ We’re on the same page.”

Filosofos said, “It’s not fun, but you do what you have to do to get through what you have to get through. You do it and you hope for the best, and you try to stay as healthy as you can while you’re doing it, which is very difficult, too, because I have absolutely no appetite or anything. I’ve got to force myself to eat. It’s tough in that sense. I’ve lost a bit of weight. I can always use losing weight. I said to the doctor, ‘I need to lose another 50 pounds,’ and the doctor said, ‘Yes, but not as fast as you’re doing it.’ ”

Filosofos, who retired in 2010 after working 34 years in the New York state court system as a court clerk, has focused on the fight to find a cure for cancer, as well as on helping and supporting her family.

“I took care of my parents for a few years while they were sick,” Filosofos said. “I started coming down to Florida in 2011 for the winters, bringing my mom down. After she passed away, I started coming down myself. I go back and forth every year, although, this year, I’m probably not going to get back up there.”

The first organization Filosofos volunteered with was Susan G. Komen for the Cure, joining “way in the beginning, with the first bout of cancer. They were big in Buffalo for quite a while. In the last two years, they moved out of Buffalo. I think it was around the pandemic, just before they moved out of Buffalo. I think this office is closed now.”

Filosofos said she participated in her first Race for the Cure in 2001, and she began volunteering with Komen after her retirement. “I hooked up with them way in the beginning, with the first bout of cancer. It helped a lot. I met a lot of nice ladies, survivors, and that, and we did a lot of things together, a lot of fundraising. We always had things going on there. Just getting to know the women and participating in the different Komen activities and stuff.”

Activities include annual 5K walks in Buffalo, a survivor luncheon, a survivor dinner with a basket auction and other fundraisers and honors for survivors.

Filosofos received one of those awards as the 2017 recipient of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s annual LOVE Award.

“It was kind of sad when they moved out of Buffalo,” Filosofos said. “All of us just went our own way. I kept contact with a lot of the ladies, but we weren’t seeing each other on a more regular basis as we were before.”

Filosofos has also participated in the annual Relay For Life since its first event on Grand Island in 2003. “I got involved in it with some other friends, including Lisa Dudley (cochair of this year’s event).”

After Dudley was diagnosed with cancer in 2005, Filosofos said she tried to help her through her recovery. “She and I just hooked up and went to a lot of the runs and the walks they had around the Buffalo area with all the different organizations. She got me involved in Relay For Life. Both Lisa and Mary Dunbar-Daluisio, who is a lifetime friend, too. Well, Mary, after she got her cancer. She knew about mine before. I just got involved in it from I guess day one and kept up with it as much as I could.”

This current bout of cancer has been difficult, Filosofos said, but “I’m hanging in there. It’s getting a little more difficult lately because I’m having a hard time walking. I can get around the house, but, when I go out, I get very tired very quick. I just pulled out the walker that I had for my parents. I’m going to throw that in the car and keep it there for a while.”

Filosofos said she has a good support network in Florida, including members of her church, St. Demetrius Greek Orthodox Church, as well as other close friends. “A lot of the ladies (from the church) come to visit a couple times a week and bring food and whatever. I have a couple friends who are very close that are here all the time for me. They do my shopping and stuff like that.

“My family was kind of worried, and they said, ‘You don’t have any family there!’ Well, I have a brother who is over on Punta Gorda on the west coast of Florida and a niece. She just had a baby, so I don’t expect her to come over at all. My brother comes over once in a while. Then my brother Mike, who is up in New York, comes down.”

When asked what she would tell someone newly diagnosed with cancer, Filosofos said, “Most important thing is to have a positive attitude about it and go into it with that attitude, knowing that you can beat this. What I first told myself back in 1998 is it’s a year out of my life. If I can get through this year, then I’m golden. I can do anything. I told people, like I remember telling Lisa (Dudley), to just hang in there. I asked her what her doctors suggested in regard to treatments and stuff like that. I told her it’s going to be tough for a little while, but you’ll get through it and then, you get on the other side of it and stay as positive as you can. God will get you through it. The power of prayer is powerful. I believe that 100,000%.”

Filosofos said she had a number of people to thank, including “Lisa Dudley for nominating me for this award and my brother, Mike, for reading my message. I’m thankful for all the prayer and thoughts from people I know, people I don’t know that have been thrown my way. I hear from people I haven’t heard from in 20 years. They said, ‘Keep up the faith, keep going!’

“I even had one lawyer friend of mine who offered to donate platelets for me. I said, ‘Jack, I haven’t spoken to you since I left work. Why would you do this for me?’ He goes, ‘Why not? You’re a good friend of mine. If you need them, I’ll give them to you.’ He was coming down to Florida.

“My doctor said, ‘No, he doesn’t have to do that. We have more than enough platelets that we can use for you if we need them.’ I just thanked him and said, ‘I can’t believe you would do that, especially when we hadn’t seen or spoken to each other in 20 years.’

“It just blew me away that people are that generous and are that willing to do things for you. People are generally very good. I’m just thankful for all the thoughts and prayers that people are giving me. It gives me a little boost every day when I read them on Facebook, or I get texts or whatever.”

Relay For Life’s Luminaria Ceremony, which was delayed due to rainy conditions during the event on June 2, will be held at 9:15 p.m. Monday, July 8, at Hope Garden in Veterans Park near the Little League Concession Stand. You can order luminaria online at www.relayforlife.org/GrandIslandNY. They will also be available on site after 8 p.m.