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Howland restaurant to host fundraiser for cancer patient
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
HOWLAND
A fundraiser for Warren native and John F. Kennedy High School graduate Lori LaCella Gervelis, who has advanced ovarian cancer, will be at 6 p.m. Saturday at Leo’s Ristorante.
Gervelis, 49, was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer Feb. 28, 2002, and she had surgery March 7, 2002, to remove tumors and had a hysterectomy.
Gervelis is the daughter of Lena LaCella of Howland. She and her husband, Chris, a former Kinsman resident and a 1977 JFK graduate, have two children: Kyle Gervelis of Powell and Alyssa Gervelis, a student at Ashland University.
For several years, Lori Gervelis had on-and-off chemotherapy treatments, and for the last three years, she has been on continuous chemotherapy.
But, chemotherapy is no longer effective, and Gervelis has been accepted into a PARP [Poly ADP-ribose] polymerase) inhibitor clinical trial at Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute in Hershey, Pa. PARP is a class of drugs.
Treatments began in February but are not fully covered by insurance and are costly.
The fundraiser Saturday at Leo’s, 7042 E. Market St., is to help Gervelis continue treatments in Hershey.
The evening will consist of a dinner by chef Leo DelGarbino and includes a cash bar, silent auction with gifts donated by area businesses, family and friends, and a 50/50 drawing. Tickets, which must be purchased in advance, are $25 per person. Tickets will not be sold at the door.
Suggested ways to help Gervelis and her family defray medical expenses include: purchase tickets to the dinner and fundraiser; donate a gift or item for one of the auctions; or make a donation directly to Gervelis and her family.
To make donations directly to Gervelis, send a check or money order payable to Lori Gervelis, 9520 Concord Road, Powell, OH 43065.
To purchase tickets or for additional information about the fundraiser, call Lisa Chance at (330) 883-5878 or Patty Marchese at (330) 717-2498.