Lives Lost

12/31/47 – 08/02/2012

Vincent “Mickey” McCloskey

Mickey was the love of my life and my best friend. We had 41 wonderful years together. He worked hard as an Ironworker for Local 580 and had retired.

He was the consummate family man. Mickey loved his home and he enjoyed the simple things, such as tending his lawn and doing projects around the house. He had a fantastic sense of humor and was kind and caring to all. He adored his children Tracey, Karen and Brian and was very proud of all of them. He treasured each of his grandchildren Julia, Gavin, Brian, Emma, Megan, Vincent, Owen and Jenna. He established a special connection to each of them. His favorite pastime was attending their sporting events. He was their biggest cheerleader and he simply beamed with all of their accomplishments.

Mickey was an ardent sports enthusiast. Although he loved all the New York teams, he was a passionate New York Rangers fan. He also loved to play golf.

Mickey had a melonoma removed on his back and the doctors stated that it had not spread to his lymph nodes. He followed up every three months with the dermatologist and surgeon. He was due for a pet scan at the end of June, one year after his surgery but had a seizure one week before the scan on June 9, 2012 and was diagnosed with melanoma metastasis to his brain. He never had any symptoms and we were devastated by this diagnosis. He underwent full brain radiation and started chemo but sadly he didn’t have the time to fight this disease and passed on August 2, 2012.

My life is not the same and never will be. People need to be educated more about exposure to the sun and skin cancer, especially melanoma.

It is my hope that I will be given a chance to help people understand the dangers of melanoma through my association with CCMAC.

Mickey is missed by all who knew him. He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather.

Theresa McCloskey

Jeanne Dowdell
3/20/2003

In Loving Memory Of Jeanne Dowdell

Our sister Jeanne survived Ovarian cancer at 40. Five years later she was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus and again survived. May 2002, six years later she was diagnosed with Melanoma located in the vaginal area, discovered during a routine GYN exam.

June 2002 Jeanne underwent surgery for 17 hours. She developed a staph infection a week following surgery, in addition developed a C-Diff infection. Jeanne who was admitted in June remained hospitalized and would now be spending Christmas in hospital.

January 15, 2003, eight months after her initial diagnosis, the Melanoma had spread to her Lungs, she was terminal. She was transferred to Hospice and passed away two months later, March 20, 2003. In spite of all her pain and suffering, we will always remember her contagious laugh, her heart of gold and her beautiful smile.

We love you Jeanne,
Your sisters Nancy Dowdell & Helen Pietro

Nicole Marie Montalbano-Wagne
11/29/79 – 7/13/2007

“Why Walk When You Can Dance”

Nicole was a fun loving person that loved life and loved her family more than anyone I know. She loved to dance and sing since she was a very young girl. She rarely “just walked” instead was always dancing and singing, making everyone laugh. Through the ten months of “terror” following her diagnosis of Melanoma she remained strong and tried to ease the worry of everyone around her.

Nicole was diagnosed at 27 years of age, October 6^th, Stage IV, no primary site ever found. During the next ten months of her life she did everything possible to survive this dreaded disease. She was treated with every chemotherapy available to her including numerous blood transfusions and even entered a new clinical trial, to no avail. Nothing could save her.

Nicole danced into heaven on July 13, 2007 leaving behind a devastated family.

“Always in our hearts” is something written on her stone and so true, in our hearts she will always be – my beautiful daughter.

Dina’s Story

Dina was just at the time in her life when all the dreams came true. A young wife, a proud mother of a 16 month old son, and now three months pregnant with her second child. The little house she and her husband had dreamed of was just starting to take shape when she found a lump under her right breast. A very aggressive stage four melanoma. She remained brave and happy and celebrated every moment with her family and her friends, but nothing the doctors could do would give her more time. She died three weeks before her daughters first birthday. We try to find a reason that she had to be taken. We try to think of a cause for such a horrid cancer. One that strikes so fast and kills so callously. We pray someday, with knowledge, with caution, with awareness, that melanoma will be curable. We try desperately to protect our loved ones from the dangers of UV rays, and the horror of skin cancer.

Dr. Julian David Baumert
6/16/1975 – 5/24/2006

Julian along with his wife Maren came to the U.S. as a result of a job transfer to Brookhaven Labs. It was months after attending our dinner last year that he began to lose his courageous battle with Melanoma. He attended the Melanoma Support Group here on Long Island. Julian’s gentleness and positive attitude are a reminder that Melanoma may attack the body but never the spirit. We must continue to make a difference for the future!!

Maria Papanikolaou
January 20, 1961 – July 12, 2006

Maria Papanikolaou was an amazing woman. Married at 20, she moved from Cyprus to New York to begin the next step of her life. As a restaurant owner with her husband, she was working all hours of the day while raising her three daughters. There wasn’t anything she couldn’t do. Her smile brought happiness to everyone around her. She cherished life and held everyone around her close to her heart.

She was diagnosed with malignant melanoma in Sept. 2001. A mole on her thigh was removed and a biopsy confirmed she had Stage III melanoma. She tried every single therapy in the book and went through a number of surgeries as well as a couple of clinical trials. However there wasn’t anything that seemed to work the way it should have. Although she was going through so much all these years, she remained a strong woman. Not once did her weakness and pain overcome her. Her experience has given us the knowledge of what melanoma really is and how cautious we must be with ourselves now.

She was an amazing wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. Although she is not with us physically, we know she will always be with us in spirit.

Michael Lee Bellah
May 26, 1974 – May 16, 2006

Mike was born in San Diego, California to Bill and Mary Bellah. He married his love, Kathryn, on October 25, 2003 in Tucson, Arizona. His interests were as varied as the hues in an Arizona sunset. He loved hiking, fishing, hunting, boating, rock climbing; just about anything that involved the beautiful outdoors. He was a devoted family man who loved Kathy and his family with all his heart. He had many close friends all of who considered Mike their brother. Another of Mike’s joys was to build and repair computers. He was working towards a degree in Computer Science and had recently been awarded a scholarship to the University of Arizona when his battle with melanoma began.

Mike was diagnosed with melanoma on July 7^th, 2005. Initially, he was thought to have a “sebaceous cyst” behind his right ear. He had seen several doctors, all of whom had prescribed antibiotics for treatment. In July, he had the “cyst” removed, which turned out to be melanoma in a lymph node. He was already in stage III when our nightmare began. The primary lesion was never found. For the next 10 months, he faced each challenge and fear with grace and dignity, the same way he lived his life.

Mike was a courageous, generous and loving man. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his family and friends. His blue eyes reflected the quiet strength and integrity of his character. One of our dear friends at his memorial service summed up Mike’s life this way, “How do I remember Mike Bellah? Tall, handsome and quiet, the Clint Eastwood type. With one big difference, he made your day”. There is not a moment or day that doesn’t go by that we do not think of him and miss him. He is in our hearts and lives forever and we eagerly await our heavenly reunion.

Keith Kamman’s Story

Keith Kamman, age 34, danced to heaven on March 31st encircled by his loving family. How do you sum up a life that ends too soon? Keith loved life. He cherished being a father, husband, son, grandson, nephew, brother, friend, cousin, architect, home “fixer upper”, camper, fisherman, traveler, just to name a few. But most importantly his love for his two daughters (age 2 and 4) and wife defined him.

Keith was born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin and grew up in Plymouth, Minnesota. He graduated with his Master’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Minnesota in 1996. He and Jane Kimble were married October 3, 1997. They were blessed by the births of their daughters, Claire and Amelia in 1999 and 2001.

From the moment Keith was diagnosed with melanoma, our family has been cradled by an amazing circle of love. Thank you to Dr. Svetomir Markovic and staff at Mayo Oncology, Dr. Nicolas Gonzales and his alternative method of treatment and Dr. Lentz and staff in Mainz, Germany. And our unending gratitude to the Allina Hospice nurses and staff.

Keith is survived by his wife, Jane; daughters Claire and Amelia; parents Paul and Cathy; brother Craig, Sister Paula, Grandmother, Loretta; Great Aunt Louise Holter, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and friends.

Keith fought with determination and strength. Though he is gone from our physical midst, he will live in our hearts forever.

“In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.”

-Albert Camus

Joey Moran’s Story

I think in retrospect the final months of Joey’s life were the most important… and quite frankly I think that is when I got to know him the best. You see Joey married my sister Elizabeth Baker in October 2002. He was almost 20 years older then my sister, but when they were together you would never know. Somehow Joey just fit in – with my sister, and all of us. He had intelligence, humor, and was the hardest working guy ever. I would only find out how caring he was after he passed, when countless numbers of people came to our rescue with stories of how Joey had helped them. God it was like he was a super hero.

A few years before, Joey had a mole removed it was diagnosed as melanoma. He was your typical Irish man who had been out in the sun in County Mayo, all of his life. No one had ever heard of skin cancer. Joey went through the first mole removal like a pro. We thought it was all in the past. Boy, were we wrong.

May 3, 2003 Joseph (Josie) Dearg Moran was born. What a day! Little Josie was his dad’s pride and joy. Unfortunately, melanoma reoccurred shortly after his birth. It came back with a vengeance. …Such a scary feeling. Joey had a tumor grow back under his first scar. Melanoma had traveled to the lymph nodes under his arm and the doctors performed surgery. He would never be able to be a contractor again! That was his livelihood. We tried to reinforce the fact that he was healthy and that is all that mattered….but he was devastated.

He appeared healthy and all scans were now clear! The doctors wanted him to undergo treatment. A month before his treatments, the Moran family found out that a new member would be arriving in September 2004. Joey was sooo happy but the feeling left soon…. In January 2004 Joey started chemo. He fought so hard with the chemo, and then with the reoccurring brain tumors. When he was in Sloan Kettering hospital after having the brain tumors removed, he asked my older sister and I to visit him! Looking back I think Joey knew the battle was bigger than he was and he wanted us to know that we need to take care of our sister and the babies! We knew that already though!!!

Joey lost his battle on June 19, 2004 and was buried in his homeland of County Mayo (Currane), Ireland. He didn’t see the birth of his youngest son Emmet Thomas Moran who was born September 10, 2004. My sister delivered this baby on her own with my mom and older sister in the waiting area. I think she wanted to be alone hoping that Joey would somehow show his spirit!

Joey does show up a lot. Of course not physically but every once in a while we are thrown a curve ball! He will always live on and he has left everyone he knows with the job of keeping his memory alive!!! I tell his sons about dad. Josie knows that daddy is up in the sky….He does not really get it but for now that is all he needs to know!!

Melanoma cut short a life that was sooo very important to my family.

Meredith Baker, Loving Sister In Law

In Loving Memory of John Barry Fitzgerald Jr.
11/30/1964- 10/12/2004

John knew what was important in his life. He wasn’t impressed by money or status. John left the world of finance to pursue a “road less traveled.” For the last four years of his life John counseled the youth of Covenant House in Manhattan. He took great pride in his work but never focused on the good he was doing but instead the good in those he served.

John was a “stubborn irishman” which should be taken in only the best sense of the phrase. At the time of his diagnosis with stage four melanoma he was given six months to live. John died six months and one day later. Those six months were months of at times discouraging treatment but also a time of strengthening family bonds and living! John never gave up his battle until his final days. He spoke of life and plans, surfing and travel. He renewed bonds with old friends and attended his final Giants football game.

John returned to his family home when he became ill. He spent hours each day with his niece and nephews treasuring the newness of each day through their eyes. He loved and he laughed and let no one know his pain. John was very brave.

We all miss John so very much especially his father, sister, brother and stepmother. John is at peace that can never be found in this life. He has returned to the arms of his mother.

Melanoma has robbed so many families. John never liked to be the center of attention but let John’s life and death help us to understand our mission to end this deadly disease. We must educate, use caution and do whatever we can to work toward a cure.