Shelton family hosting brunch to benefit Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness

The Durante family, pictured from left: Mario, Anna, Ralph, Luca and Santino. / Contributed photo

DERBY - The Durante family of Shelton is “paying it forward” with a community-wide fundraiser brunch Sept. 8 at the La Sala Banquet Hall, Sons of Italy, 23 High St., to benefit The Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital.

Hosted by Ralph Durante, the brunch is inspired by his wife, Anna, who is a breast cancer survivor. The Durante family organized the event partly in gratitude for the support and services they’ve received, partly in tribute to the many members of their family and community who didn’t make it through their fight with cancer, and mostly in hope of saving someone else’s loved one or family member through awareness and prevention campaigns.

The brunch will be from 11:30 a.m. -2:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 and are available in advance or at the door. Proceeds will benefit The Valley Goes Pink, a grassroots, community-wide effort throughout the Lower Naugatuck Valley to support The Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness. For tickets or more information, contact Ralph or Anna Durante at 203.732.1977 or annadurante1@gmail.com or visit The Valley Goes Pink atgriffinhealth.org/pink

A Commitment to Raising Awareness and Prevention

Anna Durante was diagnosed with breast cancer at her very first baseline mammogram at age 40. She credits that mammogram with allowing her to catch her breast cancer early.
As a result of that finding, it was recommended she have a double mastectomy.

At the time of Anna’s diagnosis, Griffin Hospital didn’t have a Center for Breast Wellness, so Anna drove to New Haven and Stamford to see her doctors.

“It would have been so much easier for me and so much less stress on my family if I could have stayed right here at Griffin,” Anna Durante said.

The Durantes were valuable supporters when The Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness was being built and stocked with state-of-the-art equipment.

The Center opened in 2011 and the Durante family continues to fund raise for new equipment, free mammograms to uninsured people, and breast cancer awareness and prevention campaigns.

Anna had a wonderfully supportive, but not very domestic husband in Ralph who had to bear the brunt of caring for their three sons, Santino, Mario, and Luca, as well as Anna while continuing to work. They now joke about the way Ralph did housework or the meals he cooked, but at the time, it wasn’t humorous at all.

“I worked all day. I came home. I cooked and cleaned. And then I had to go back to work at 3 a.m. where I was a supervisor at a waste management company,” Ralph Durante said. “She was in her room. I didn’t know what to say. It was tough. A lot of men don’t know what it’s like because they haven’t had to deal with it. It hasn’t hit their house.”

Shortly after Anna’s diagnosis, other family members were diagnosed with cancer. Ralph is also battling his own health issues.
Rather than spend their time dwelling on why so many cancers have struck their family, the Durantes prefer to put their energy into trying to help other families.

“We went through it as a family. If you stick together, you can get through it. We do this to show support to other families,” Luca Durante said.

The Durantes put their efforts into supporting each other as best they can through each illness and into trying to get the word out about prevention, early diagnosis and finding a cure.
They want people to know about the Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness and to encourage people to take advantage of the services available there.
Ralph credits “early detection and Anna’s positive outlook and strength” as the reason she is “alive and well” now.

“We have seen young and old lose their battles with cancer, but will never give up looking for cures and working toward prevention,” he said.

The Durantes are hard-working people. Ralph works for the Shelton Highway Department and Anna owns the Cappelli Salon of Derby.
Their commitment to family and health inspired them to host the brunch and they hope it inspires others to take action.

“If cancer hits your house, like it hit my house, you want to do something,” Ralph said. “You want to reach out and do something…anything. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just something - whatever your pocket can afford.”

For more information, contact Ralph or Anna Durante at 203-732-1977 or annadurante1@gmail.com or visit The Valley Goes Pink at griffinhealth.org/pink.

About The Valley Goes Pink

The Valley Goes Pink is a grassroots, community-wide effort throughout the Lower Naugatuck Valley to sustain the efforts of The Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness to ensure the delivery of state-of-the-art care and create awareness about breast cancer and the importance of early detection for Valley residents.
Monies raised through The Valley Goes Pink are largely through individual gifts under $25 each.

About The Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital

The Hewitt Center for Breast Wellness was opened in 2011, thanks to the fundraising efforts of the Campaign for Breast Wellness at Griffin Hospital.
A grassroots initiative, the Campaign raised $1 million to develop the Center for Breast Wellness, a comprehensive breast wellness and cancer prevention and treatment center for the people of the Valley.


This is a press release from Griffin Hospital.