Northeast Regional Cancer Institute’s 22nd Annual CASUAL Day Announces Chair

Alessandro Smeraldi, MD is chair for the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute’s 22nd Annual CASUAL (Colon Cancer Awareness Saves Unlimited Adult Lives) Day for a second year.  Building on the momentum he gained last year; he is once again teaming up with his wife Gail and other healthcare professionals to bring awareness to the importance of colon cancer screening.

Alessandro Smeraldi, MD is a board-certified vascular surgeon. Dr. Smeraldi recently retired, focusing on his family and his health. He is proud to have served his community these many years. He maintains ties with the Society for Vascular Surgery and Society for Vascular Ultrasound. Additionally, he serves as a clinical professor of surgery at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton.  

Dr. Smeraldi draws daily strength from the love of his wife, Gail, and their children Hayley and Caleb.

CASUAL Day, set for Thursday, March 27, 2025, is a dress down day to raise awareness for colorectal cancer in northeast Pennsylvania.  On this day, participants dress casual while wearing specially designed socks, hats, and/or t-shirts.

The focus of this awareness campaign is to have a casual conversation about colon cancer. All proceeds from the event stay in NEPA and go towards the Cancer Institute efforts to raise awareness and support to support colorectal cancer prevention, early detection education and screenings.

For more information about CASUAL Day and how you can participate, please call the Cancer Institute at (570) 904-8808 or visit www.cancernepa.org.  

NRCI Names Tribute to Courage Honoree

The Board of Ambassadors will honor Peter J Danchak as the 2024 Tribute to Courage Honoree at their upcoming Spirit of Hope Celebration set for Friday, November 15, 2024, at Mohegan Pennsylvania. 

Peter J. Danchak is the Regional President of the Northeast PA region of PNC Bank.

Danchak joined PNC Bank in 1984 and has held various positions of responsibility in Corporate Banking.  He was named Regional President of the Northeast PA Market of PNC Bank in January 2001.

Active in the community, Danchak currently serves as Chairman of AllOne Charities Foundation and Co-Chair of the Scranton Plan. He serves on the Board of Directors of AllOne Foundation, the Highmark Regional Advisory Board and the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber of Commerce.  In October of 2020, he was appointed to the Early Learning Investment Commission Emeritus Advisory Council.

He also previously served as a member of the Board of Directors of the ARC of Northeastern Pennsylvania Foundation, Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Luzerne Foundation, the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, King’s College, Keystone College, Johnson College, Junior Achievement of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, the Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Scranton Chamber Board of Commerce and Scranton Lackawanna Industrial Building Company and the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber.  He served on the Board of Trustees of Marywood University, Scranton Preparatory School and the University of Scranton Kania School of Management. Danchak also was the co-chair of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission for 10 years. 

Danchak received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Scranton and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from them in 2018.

Seated: Dino Campitelli, Amanda Marchegiani, Karen Saunders, Leo Vergnetti, Spirit of Hope Board of Ambassadors Chair, Laura Toole, and Vanessa Vergnetti Thomas, 

Standing: Joe Ferguson, Jim Gorman, Vince Scarpetta, Pat Sicilio, Nick Colangelo. Ph.D, Nevin Gerber, Matt Beynon, Tammy Saunders, Mark Mesko, Maria Donahue, Angela Rempe Jones and Marta Gomes, 

Absent from photo: Clarence Baltrusaitis, Tom Blaskiewicz, Jim & Susan Brady, Brigitte Baum, Richard P. Conaboy, Edward Cosgrove, Bill Davis, Tom DePietro,  Mary Erwine, Julie Eisenman, Traci Fosnot, Greg Gagorik, Meghan Gagorik, JoAnn Romano Hallesky, John Heil, Jennifer Heil, Kristie Hynoski, Charles C. Jefferson, Robin Long, John Mack, Linda Marino-Brooks, Joe Mattioli, IV, Brian McQuestion, Philip Medico, Dan Meuser, Dana D’Angelo Morris, David Nape, Christopher Peters, MD, Vito Pizzo, Casey Quinn, William F. Rinaldi, John P. Rodgers, Esq., Vince Scarpetta, P. Richard Scheller, Frank Sepko, Dr. Steven J. Syzdlowski, Joe Van Wie, Tony Vergnetti, Patty Vergnetti, Sonya Eddings, and Atty. Charles J. Volpe.

The Board of Ambassadors is a group of individuals and business leaders in northeast Pennsylvania who have come together to raise funds & awareness to fight cancer in the local community through their support and promotion of a gala event.

The Spirit of Hope Celebration benefits the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute’s Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. This program helps individuals in northeast Pennsylvania get their recommended colorectal, breast, cervical, and lung cancer screenings. 

For more information about the upcoming Spirit of Hope Celebration, please call the Cancer Institute at (570) 904-8808 or visit www.spiritofhopecelebration.org. 

Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Receives Donation from McDonald Foundation

The McDonald Foundation presented the Cancer Institute with a $5,000 donation to support the Cancer Institute’s Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. Nevin Gerber, a representative of the McDonald Foundation and Spirit of Hope Ambassador together with Leo Vergnetti, Chairman of the Spirit of Hope Board of Ambassadors, presented the check.

From left to right: Karen M. Saunders, President, Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, Nevin Gerber, McDonald Foundation and Leo Vergnetti, Board of Ambassadors Chairman.

The Spirit of Hope Board of Ambassadors is a group of community volunteers that hosts an annual Spirit of Hope Celebration in November at Mohegan Pennsylvania. Proceeds from the event benefit the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute’s Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. This program helps low income and un/underinsured individuals in northeast Pennsylvania get their recommended colorectal, breast, cervical, and lung cancer screenings.

For more information about the Spirit of Hope Celebration, visit, www.spiritofhopecelebration.org .

Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Raises Funds at Spirit of Hope Event

The Spirit of Hope Celebration Board of Ambassadors and Associate Board of Ambassadors presented the Cancer Institute with a $56,000 check from their 2023 Spirit of Hope event.

“On behalf of the Ambassadors who truly exhibit the ‘Spirit of Hope’ we are thrilled to present you with these funds to help individuals receive early detection and free screenings,” said Leo Vergnetti, Chairman of the Board of Ambassadors.

The Board of Ambassadors, a group of community volunteers, hosted the ninth annual Spirit of Hope Celebration in November 2023 at Mohegan Sun Pocono. More than 300 people were in attendance. The event featured cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, music and a silent auction. Christopher A. Peters, M.D. was the Tribute to Courage Honoree. 

Proceeds from the event benefited the Cancer Institute’s Community-Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program. This program helps low income and un/underinsured individuals in northeast Pennsylvania get their recommended colorectal, breast, cervical, and lung cancer screenings.

The 2024 Spirit of Hope Celebration will take place on Friday, November 15, 2024 at Mohegan Pennsylvania. More details can be found at www.spiritofhopecelebration.org

Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Receives Donation from School District

Riverside School District hosted a colon cancer awareness t-shirt fundraiser in March to sell to students, teachers, and families in the school district to support the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute’s colon cancer education and awareness campaign, CASUAL (Colon Cancer Awareness Saves Unlimited Adult Lives) Day. This is the third year the district has hosted this fundraiser.

The event was led by a Riverside School District Mother, Kim Owens. She has been a longtime supporter of CASUAL Day as her husband Dennis passed away from colon cancer at a young age. She started her own CASUAL Day team to honor him.

Mad Tees in Dupont has been instrumental in the design, creation and distribution of the products. The school sold the specially designed colon cancer awareness t-shirts and donated the proceeds to support the work of the Cancer Institute. Several families in the Riverside school district have been affected by colon cancer.

Proceeds from CASUAL Day benefit the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute efforts to raise colorectal cancer awareness and support colorectal cancer screenings for low income, un/underinsured individuals.

Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Receives Donation from Foundation

The Northeast Regional Cancer Institute recently received a $50,000 grant from The Hawk Family Foundation, in memory of their daughter, Carolyn Hawk Horter. Carolyn passed away in 2023 from colon cancer at the age of 46.

Funds will support the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Community Based Cancer Screening Navigation Program and specifically colon cancer screenings. The Navigation Program is a cancer screening initiative focused on education, barrier reduction and facilitation of screenings for breast, cervical, colon and lung cancer targeting low income un/underinsured individuals, while connecting or reconnecting all participants to a medical home to ensure ongoing preventative care.

“We are very appreciative of the Hawk Family Foundation grant that provides critical support for the colon cancer screening component of the Community-based Navigation Screening Program. Targeting low income, un/underinsured individuals, these funds will be used to reduce barriers to colon screening and ensure that those most vulnerable are up to date with these potentially life-saving cancer screenings,”  said, Laura Toole, Executive Vice President at the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute. This funding was awarded as part of the open applications for The Hawk Family Foundation.

Northeast Regional Cancer Institue Publishes Local Cancer Surveillance Report

The Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, a local community-based nonprofit organization, has released the latest report on cancer, “Cancer in Northeastern Pennsylvania: Incidence and Mortality for Common Cancers”.

The report is available at: http://cancernepa.org/  

This unique, locally focused report was compiled by Cancer Institute Vice President of Cancer Surveillance, Karen Ryczak, RN and Medical Director, Samuel Lesko, MD, MPH. The report documents that both incidence and mortality rates for cancer remain significantly higher in NEPA than the U.S. It also identifies those specific cancer sites for which there is a disparity in either incidence or mortality. In NEPA, we continue to see statistically significantly higher incidence rates for cancer of the lung, larynx, oral cavity and pharynx, esophagus, colon and rectum, urinary bladder, pancreas, thyroid, cervix, and uterus compared to the U.S. Evidence-based screenings are available for breast, cervical, colon and lung cancer that can reduce deaths from these cancers and in the case of cervical and colon cancer, may prevent cancers from developing.  Primary care providers are well suited to advise individuals on what screenings are appropriate based on age, gender, personal and family history, risk factors, and eligibility criteria for screenings. 

The goal in sharing these data is to raise awareness across the community and to promote collaborative efforts to reduce the risk of select cancers through healthy lifestyle choices and adherence to proper screening guidelines. The report offers important insight for Northeastern Pennsylvania residents, health professionals, and government leaders. 

The Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Receives Donation

The 10th year of the Grouse Hill Gallop 5K run/walk event took place on Thanksgiving morning in Greenfield Township. This year, the grassroots group chose the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute (NRCI) as their benefiting organization. Community members joined together on Thanksgiving morning to compete in a 5K run in their neighborhood. The donations were collected at the event and online, and through their efforts, they earned $2,179. These funds will help ease the burden of cancer in northeast Pennsylvania. All funds will stay local and support NRCI’s community programming and services. Several Grouse Hill neighbors have been affected by cancer.