Carol Musso Foley knows intimately the difficult, seemingly insurmountable road that all cancer patients face. After being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2011, she went through the hardships of chemotherapy to ultimately overcome her illness. Cancer-free now, it’s the stellar and compassionate care of her Hackensack Meridian Health team, led by her oncologist Peter J. Mencel, M.D., and the Atlantic Hematology Oncology Associates Group, that she honors with gratitude by her donation.

“The kindness of Dr. Mencel and his Group, and the spirit of compassion and individualized treatment that they provided, were instrumental during my most difficult chemotherapy treatments ... which was one of the most difficult journeys of my life,” says Ms. Foley of New York and Spring Lake, New Jersey. “So when the opportunity presented itself for our family foundation and myself, to enhance the cancer care programs at Ocean Medical Center and Jersey Shore University Medical Center, we gladly took on this mission by donating $500,000 to Ocean and $250,000 to Jersey Shore in December 2018.”

Ms. Foley and her late parents, Angela and Victor Musso, founded the Nicola-Musso Charitable Foundation, lnc. almost two decades ago. lt’s a family-founded and family-funded foundation; no funds are ever solicited from the public. And one of the Foundation’s primary missions is to further the field of health care and most especially to assist those who need financial and other assistance in securing the best services and procedures available.

Dr. Mencel says a donation like this can make quite an impact on cancer research and services. “Thanks in part to our ability to access the latest technology and advancements in cancer care, Ms. Foley was able to successfully survive her cancer,” he says. “l am gratified that I could be there in her time of need and am deeply humbled by the incredible gift in my name. lt is truly my passion to assist all of my patients on their individual journeys to their most positive outcomes possible.”

Ms. Foley hopes these gifts will be an inspiration to others to contribute to their local community hospital foundations. No matter how little or how much they have to give, it all makes a difference to the patients who need the support.

Learn more about Hackensack Meridian Health’s foundations or make a donation.

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