By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
Community chips in to help 6-year-old cancer patient
HILLSBOROUGH — When Ryan Diaz, of Gemini Drive, was 21 months old, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer that had already metastasized to his lungs, and doctors did not hold much hope for his health.
After rounds of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor, surgery and even more chemotherapy, 6-year-old Ryan has beat the odds as he heads toward a clean bill of health.
”Next to the definition of ‘miracle’ should be his name,” Ryan’s father, Andres Diaz, said. “He’s doing well, and the doctors didn’t expect that.”
Unfortunately, achieving that bill of health requires paying medical bills, which Mr. Diaz said pile up because insurance does not cover the treatment Ryan receives from Sloan Kettering, in New York City. To help his family pay for these medical bills, Super Stop & Shop, on Route 206, donated $1,500 to his family in a ceremony Saturday.
”We are very thankful that the community has come together and helped us,” said Mr. Diaz, who lives with his wife, Allison, Ryan and two other sons, Andrew, 13, and Kevin, 9. “We have been trying to do the best we can.”
The money donated by the Stop & Shop will go toward paying Ryan’s medical expenses as he continues to get blood work and other checkups every three months to ensure his health.
”We just wanted to do something,” said Dave Brown, front end manager for the store. “We decided to raise the money because it’s a township boy.”
Through bake sales, hot dog sales and other fundraising efforts over the last month, Mr. Brown said the store collected the money, which was given to the family to be used in paying Ryan’s medical expenses.
”We decided we would help pay his medical bills for the treatment,” Mr. Brown said. “We did the fundraisers for about a month to donate whatever we could raise.”
The information about Ryan was passed on by Laureen Valentino, of Gemini Drive, a friend of the Diaz family. Through her own previous event held to help Ryan and his family, she was able to connect with Mr. Brown to arrange this most recent fundraiser.
On her own, Ms. Valentino said she has raised money for the Diaz family through a skate-a-thon in June at the Princeton Sports Center, in Monmouth Junction, and other donations that, in total, earned $11,000 for Ryan’s medical bills.
Ms. Valentino said she arranged with Angelo’s Pizzeria & Restaurant, on Amwell Road, and others to have a bucket at their cash registers for patrons to make donations, while Bottle King, on Route 206, and Petrock’s Bar & Grille, on Amwell Road, gave monetary donations.
In addition, Ms. Valentino said, the coaches at the Princeton Sports Center worked together to raise the funds to send the Diaz family on a cruise for their first vacation with Ryan.
”The family had never been able to take a vacation (because of Ryan’s treatments),” she said. “People were very generous.”
Aside from the fundraisers over the summer – which Mr. Diaz said he is very thankful for – he said he was surprised to learn how much money the Stop & Shop had collected during the month, and that Ryan is also grateful for the money.
”Ryan knows he got money for himself and he’s happy,” Mr. Diaz said. “It is nice to know people who want to help each other out.”

