A 'Night at the Downs' produces largest show of support ever

Every year Sue Underwood, executive director of Genesee Cancer Assistance, asks one or two people to share their story for the nonprofit’s annual dinner, and this year she thought that Kristina Gilbert, whose family had dealt with cancer multiple times, was a perfect candidate.

It took a little self-convincing for Gilbert to agree.

“When Sue asked me, I was kind of taken back, but then I remembered my promise to my sister. It was to keep her story and her memory alive for all of us,” Gilbert said during the annual gathering Saturday night at Batavia Downs. “So I hope that, if anything, you can take away that cancer does not discriminate, but it also doesn’t take away the hope that we all have and that it is a journey. We can all come together and we can fight it together, and we all have a purpose in this world.”

Her family’s cancer “journey,” as she called it, began in April 2019, when she took her sister Candy to the emergency room with excruciating pain in her right side. After a CT scan, the doctor discovered a cyst on her ovary, and a spot at the very bottom of her lung that turned out to be cancer.

Her ovary was clean, but the spot on her lung had to be removed, Gilbert said. Her sister was told by the doctor that if she had to have cancer, that was the “best kind.” She did not require chemo or radiation, and Candy just celebrated five years of being cancer-free this past summer.

Although her sister was fortunate to have good health insurance and was not in need of GCA’s financial assistance, Gilbert learned more about the nonprofit because she and  Underwood attend the same church. That was information that Gilbert unknowingly would turn to in the future. 

In April 2022, her sister Carrie made a trip to the ER for what she thought were kidney stones. After a CT scan, doctors again discovered cancer. This time, however, it was already at Stage IV, and in her liver, spine, bones and lungs. 

“We were beyond devastated when a trip to the ER, when you’re thinking of kidney stones, turns out to be a terminal illness,” Gilbert said. “Carrie received radiation to help with the bone and spine cancer, and after that was completed, she started chemo. It wasn’t long after she started chemo that her hair began to thin and fall out.”

That’s when the family recalled GCA and its Simply Beautiful, Simply Renewal program that provides services and education to help those dealing with effects of cancer look and feel their best with wigs and makeup.

Carrie met Nickie Fazio, who worked with her to find a wig — of just the right type, color, tone and fit — and help her to feel comfortable with the new look.

“When Carrie went and got her wig, she was elated. She was so excited. She asked my mom if she could drive her over to our office, social services, so we could see her. I could see her smile a mile away. She was so excited, and she looked beautiful. It was exactly how I remember her hair just long and straight with a little curl. And she was excited because she put the barrette and everything in it, and she said it was the first time she finally felt more like herself,” Gilbert said. “It was this past April 14 that Carrie lost her battle with cancer. We said goodbye to her way too soon.”

The funny — and sad — thing is, she said, that wasn’t the end of the cancer journey. Their mom, Bonnie, was diagnosed with colon cancer while taking care of Carrie. She received 12 rounds of chemotherapy and, despite the unpleasant side effects, she continued to show up for treatment and to care for her daughter. In fact, “she was the best caregiver Carrie could have ever asked for,” Gilbert said.

GCA did help her mom with financial assistance to offset some costs not covered by insurance.

“I work on the insurance side of business, and it's sad that people who need care are often struggling to get the care that they need. And it's foundations and organizations like this that are fantastic, and I know my family is grateful for that. No amount of money is too small or too big. It's been a crazy year, but I can say that, without a doubt, it's brought us closer. And I can't thank Genesee County Cancer Assistance enough. It's not just the money side or anything that helped us. It's the fact that they’re family, and to this day, every Sunday, Sue says, ‘How are you doing, Christina? How's your family? How's your mom? Is there anything you guys need?’” she said. “And as a matter of fact, I talked to Sue that day that Carrie passed away. We were trying to find a bed for Carrie, and Sue was trying to help us. They care for not only the patient, but the family, and they are with them the entire journey, and even after, so I thank you all so much, and I hope that our story helps you all a little bit tonight, thank you.”

The event theme was “Night at the Downs,” complete with red carpet, and it drew about 315 people, making it the largest attendance ever, Underwood said. Last year brought in 290 people for what began as a social event and evolved into an evening filled with basket raffle announcements and a card game with one prize for the last man, or woman, standing. 

“This originally started out just to be a social thankful gathering. It's November, time to be thankful, and we didn't even have the basket raffle. And then we had people saying, where's your basket raffle? So it's never really meant to be a fundraiser. It has kind of, of course, turned into a little bit of that because the baskets are all donated, and so we get to have those proceeds. But we just originally just wanted the time where we could kind of end the year out and have people come together and hear some stories. And so we've tried to pick some speakers that have great meaning to what we do and why we do what we do,” Underwood said. “So for this year, specifically, it was nice. We did introduce our new, simply, beautiful, enhanced program. So that was fun. We always just try to have a game to get the crowd engaged, and Chapin was a $3,000 sponsor for us this year and offered to bring that board. And we were so excited to be able to change it up with this red carpet theme. So yeah, it was fun.”

Kate Willson, owner of  Meraki Beauty and newly opened The Beauty Lounge by Meraki in downtown Batavia, has taken on the Simply Beautiful, Simply Renewed program, which has been enhanced to include pampering beauty services in addition to the wigs program. 

“We've been there about six years, and our heart is all about just showing love in our community and being there for our people. So it's been really cool to be able to now open a spot and continue to share that love all throughout town. And it's been really awesome to get to start working with Genesee Cancer Assistance and to start providing services to them. I myself am a hair stylist and not a public speaker. So here I am, but I love what I do and being behind the chair, and so it's been such an amazing gift to be able to work with people who are undergoing treatment and help them find a way that fits them perfectly,” Willson said. “So I've just been loving that. It's been really, really cool, and the relationships that we built with those people have just been out of this world. So it's been an odd time for me to take on something new, to be honest, because I am quite busy in my businesses, but it has been such a beautiful piece of giving back too, and just like giving me so much more energy for everything that I'm doing. So I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be here with you.” 

The program began with wigs, however, since she opened the spa in July, “we decided it would be a great addition to add in more services, because sometimes you might be totally comfortable without your hair.”

“And we're finding that a lot of people are really happy like that, which brings me a lot of joy too, that it's like I can help them in restoring now, so we can talk about products and helping them to help their scalp and build their health now, as they continue to move through the process, the journey after cancer,” she said. “And so now we're going to be offering services at the spa. So we're going to be doing facials, manicures, pedicures … so it's going to be really rejuvenating and just a good little piece to come in and relax. And that truly is what we're all about, that still remains.”

Underwood said that she has observed over the last couple of years that not everyone loses hair during treatment, which makes these spa services more inclusive for patients no matter what they are experiencing, she said.

“There might be something like that that would interest the patient, that would, as she said, make them feel renewed, relaxed, refreshed. And that piece is very important when you're battling your journey,” Underwood said. “So we're very thankful for Kate.”