By Staff Writer - September 05, 2019
Mere months after watching her husband, Ron, find out he was cancer-free, the last thing Christina Sisti expected was to be receiving her own cancer diagnosis. It was breast cancer — Grade 3, Stage 3. She quickly knew Moffitt Cancer Center was the only place for her to seek treatment.
She says, “The professionalism, the ease, the comfort. The fact that they wanted to get to know me and who I am, what I’m interested in, what I do, versus ‘Here’s your diagnosis, this is your number, we’ll see you in a couple of weeks’ — that’s what led me to Moffitt.”
Throughout Christina’s treatment, Moffitt Cancer Center was a constant source of comfort for her, a word she uses often to describe her time being treated at Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Outpatient Center on the Moffitt McKinley campus. “It’s hard to explain...when you’re going through all these different emotions and there’s this huge unknown facing you. [They were] so kind and comforting. I know I use ‘comfort’ a lot, but every single time I walk into the Schulze Outpatient Center there’s always a smile, always conversation, always best wishes.”
It was that comfort that Christina wanted to celebrate when she learned about Miles for Moffitt via social media. She missed out on last year’s Miles for Moffitt event because she was in the midst of treatment, but she knew once chemo was behind her, she would get involved. “The minute I see that it’s coming up again, I will join. I will join because I believe in research. I will join because I believe in what Moffitt does. I will join because I have experienced what Moffitt does.”
She started the team TWO SURVIVORS, TWICE THE FIGHT, TWICE THE WINNING, inspired by her and Ron’s back-to-back cancer battles. And even though Ron was not treated at Moffitt, he did benefit from the groundbreaking research happening there. “There is a doctor who did research [at Moffitt] on the best way to target the type of cancer that he had. And that is what they use at the radiation center in Bradenton, his research and his findings.”
Joined by family and friends, Christina’s team has already raised nearly $1,000. Her strategy for fundraising? Talking to people in person and via social media about the wonderful work of Moffitt Cancer Center and her experience with them during the most difficult time of her life.
As a first-time participant, Christina is excited about the sense of community and to connect with others who have been through a similar journey as she has; she’s also looking forward to completing her first race post-treatment.
“Well, I’m very happy about this being my first race. I figure if there’s any place to do it, it should be there.” We couldn’t agree more.
One hundred percent of proceeds fuel research and empower scientists at Moffitt Cancer Center to find a cure. Sign up for Miles for Moffitt today and join us in the fight against cancer on Saturday, Nov. 23.
