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The Fight: Wanting to Give Up, Choosing to Be Strong, and the Inspirational Purpose for Staying Alive

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Ridgewood resident Anthony Daniels was on track to becoming a professional athlete, till one day a freak car accident ended his hockey career. He was accepted to Fordham University to study business and pre-law, when Anthony developed an itch starting at his toes that quickly moved up his body. Following several tests, Anthony was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Continue reading The Fight: Wanting to Give Up, Choosing to Be Strong, and the Inspirational Purpose for Staying Alive

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Anthony Daniels Cancer Survivor!

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September 24,2016

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, After six long years of battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, native villager Anthony Daniels is now cancer-free.

Daniels was 19-years-old and a sophomore at Fordham University in New York City when he was diagnosed with the blood cancer.

Despite four relapses and 30 rounds of chemotherapy, Daniels never gave up trying to find a bone marrow match . Daniels struggle was well documented on this blog.

Daniels whose ongoing battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma was the focus of a documentary film, and his fight against Hodgkin’s lymphoma even got the attention of actor Bradley Cooper.

Daniels, who never found his perfect match, was told that his final shot at surviving would be to get an alternative stem cell transplant. On March 25th he took his chances heading to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas .With less than a 30% chance it would work it did and now he is in complete remission.

 

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Anthony Daniels, families hope to find bone marrow match at Ridgewood Run

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MAY 24, 2015    LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, MAY 24, 2015, 7:07 AM
BY AIMEE LA FOUNTAIN
CORRESPONDENT |
THE RIDGEWOOD NEWS

Delete Blood Cancer will host a donor drive tent at The Fred D’Elia Ridgewood Run 2015 on May 25 at Veteran’s Memorial Field.

The purpose of the drive is to find bone marrow matches for those suffering from blood diseases, including 23-year-old Ridgewood resident Anthony Daniels, who has Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“Our goal is to find a match for Anthony as well as numerous others fighting the good fight against blood cancers,” said Mayor Paul Aronsohn. “It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s so very important.”

Aronsohn helped organize the tent.

“The idea came to me from a mutual friend of mine, Ridgewood resident Linda Scarpa, and Anthony’s father, Kevin Daniels, who suggested the Memorial Day Ridgewood Run as a venue for another drive,” the mayor said. “I thought the idea was great and immediately contacted Gail Kislevitz, who then reached out to the North Jersey Masters board, which embraced the idea.”

“Our family’s been blessed with such outreach from friends, school mates, acquaintances and strangers,” Kevin said. “The support has been first-rate from our mayor and our new friends at North Jersey Masters.”

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/organizers-hope-to-find-a-match-1.1341859

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Bradley Cooper, Georgia May Jagger help Ridgewood man’s quest for marrow donors

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MAY 18, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, MAY 18, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — The last month has been something of a whirlwind for village resident Anthony Daniels.

The spirited 23-year-old, whose ongoing battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma recently was the focus of a documentary film, has been rubbing elbows with the likes of Robert De Niro and Randy Jackson at galas.

He’s fresh from shooting a public service announcement with “It Girl” model Georgia May Jagger, daughter of Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, and in recent appearances on SiriusXM Satellite Radio and the Huffington Post, the boxer and onetime Ridgewood High School hockey standout inspired thousands with his story, hoping people would register as bone marrow donors.

And let’s not forget that nationally televised segment Daniels just did with Oscar-nominated actor Bradley Cooper.

“That … that was an unreal experience,” said Daniels, who may or may not be the only person in Ridgewood who text-messages and emails with the “American Sniper” star.

“It took about a week for it to sink in that I was actually on ‘Good Morning America’ with one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.”

Daniels said he walked up to Cooper in the lobby of a New York City hotel several weeks ago, and the thespian pledged his support “the second he heard ‘boxer with cancer.’ ”

 

https://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/a-shot-of-star-power-in-war-against-cancer-1.1336825

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Actor Bradley Cooper joins Ridgewood cancer patient in urging bone marrow registration

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AP Actor Bradley Cooper

MAY 7, 2015, 7:52 PM    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015, 8:07 PM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — Village resident Anthony Daniels is getting some high-profile support in his ongoing fight against Hodgkin’s lymphoma from actor Bradley Cooper.

The “American Sniper” star appeared Wednesday with Daniels, a 23-year-old former Fordham University business student and boxing enthusiast, on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to raise awareness of the onetime Ridgewood High School hockey player’s plight. Daniels, who is fighting the cancer for a fourth time, needs a bone marrow transplant.

“I was approached by Delete Blood Cancer and they said you know, ‘There’s a guy, he’s a young man at Fordham University dealing with blood cancer,’” Cooper said in the segment.

The actor was asked by the organization if there was anything he might be willing to do to help Daniels.

Cooper replied: “Well, can I meet him? Let’s meet and talk.”

Cooper, whose father had non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and died from lung cancer four years ago, said in the segment that upon meeting Daniels, he was impressed by his determination to beat his cancer a fourth time.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/actor-bradley-cooper-joins-ridgewood-cancer-patient-in-urging-bone-marrow-registration-1.1328989

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Hillsdale drive aims to find match for Ridgewood boxer

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Hillsdale drive aims to find match for Ridgewood boxer

APRIL 2, 2015    LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015, 12:31 AM
BY LIANNA ALBRIZIO
STAFF WRITER |
PASCACK VALLEY COMMUNITY LIFE

The blue-eyed, inspirational Ridgewood boxer, who more and more people have come to know and admire through the lens of two Pascack Valley residents’ multi-award winning documentary film “To Be Strong,” continues to do just that. And not to mention, fighting for his life.

In another effort to aid in the search for a matching bone marrow donor for 23-year-old Anthony Daniels, who is battling Hodgkin lymphoma for the third time, Delete Blood Cancer DKMS will hold a drive for him, and other patients with similar cancers in need of a life-saving donor, on Saturday, April 18 at Hillsdale’s Veterans Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Daniels was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma — a type of blood cancer that can compromise one’s ability to fight infection — in 2011 when he was just 20 years old. While genetics, age, and certain viral infections can play a role in developing the disease, the cause is unknown. Since his diagnosis, Daniels beat the disease twice before, but it returned a third time in August 2013. He has since been in search of a bone marrow donor to replace his current marrow, which is diseased from hundreds of hours of chemotherapy and radiation treatments that he underwent in the past four years.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/still-fighting-to-be-strong-1.1300761

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Ridgewood cancer patient seeks donor match

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Ridgewood cancer patient seeks donor match

MARCH 24, 2015    LAST UPDATED: TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 2015, 11:51 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — Anthony Daniels still needs a miracle.

With any luck, that miracle will come April 18, when another donor drive will be held in Hillsdale, aimed at finding possible matches for the 23-year-old Ridgewood man, who has been battling an aggressive form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma for several years.

The drive is being organized by Delete Blood Cancer — the U.S. unit of the German Bone Marrow Donor Center.

During the drive, which runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Hillsdale’s Veterans Park, healthy people ages 18 to 44 will undergo a cheek swab. Volunteers must be willing to donate to any patient.

A match could mean a lifesaving bone marrow stem cell transplant for Daniels, a former Fordham University business student and onetime Ridgewood High School hockey player who was 20 when he was diagnosed with the immune system cancer.

A number of drives were held last year to help find Daniels a donor. His search for a match continues, since less than 1 percent of the population has his same DNA markers.

Inexplicably, Daniels’ two brothers are a match for each other but not for him.

https://www.northjersey.com/news/ridgewood-cancer-patient-seeks-donor-match-1.1294305

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Spirited cancer patient glad to be a role model

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Spirited cancer patient glad to be a role model

FEBRUARY 9, 2015    LAST UPDATED: MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD

RIDGEWOOD — Anthony Daniels is still fighting.

The 23-year-old, who is battling an aggressive form of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, has inspired several bone marrow drives in his honor, but has yet to benefit from any of them.

Still, he remains undeterred, determined to conquer the cancer that has ravaged his body since he received his diagnosis more than three years ago.

“I’ve become a lot stronger this past year and couldn’t be more motivated,” said Daniels, a Fordham University business student and former Ridgewood High School hockey player. “There has been a huge influx in positivity that keeps me going and focused on helping others and myself.”

Daniels just started a five-week oral drug trial — his 11th round of chemotherapy in his quest to stop Hodgkin’s, a cancer of the immune system that attacks white blood cells.

He’s also been working as the Lymphoma Research Foundation’s ambassador — an appointment he received after being featured in the documentary film “To Be Strong.” The attention also landed him a weekly gig writing a motivational column for CureToday.com, an online news resource for people with cancer.

“The film gave me a voice and presented me with other opportunities to help a large group of people,” he said.

https://www.northjersey.com/community-news/spirited-cancer-patient-glad-to-be-a-role-model-1.1267341

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Ridgewood man fights cancer in the ring

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Ridgewood man fights cancer in the ring

JUNE 11, 2014    LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY JOHN PETRICK
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Temporarily spent from his daily regimen of bag work, a panting and sweaty Anthony Daniels takes off the gloves and decompresses at the lip of a boxing ring inside a Paramus gym. But the fierce opponent he has been contending with the last three years never rests.

“Most of the time, I am very sick, but I do this anyway,” said the 23-year-old Ridgewood resident, who appears in good physical shape but whose battled-hardened gaze and ashen complexion reflect those of a guy who has been through the mill. “I do it for myself. I do it for my family.”

It was bad enough when a leg injury from a car accident killed Daniels’ dreams of playing hockey in college and maybe beyond. But what could he do? He decided to start fresh, and transfer from William Paterson to Fordham University. He even toyed with the idea of eventually going to law school. Today, planning for the future isn’t quite as easy. Doctors say his life expectancy may not exceed five years.

After bouts of vertigo and intense head-to-toe itching, Daniels was diagnosed on Dec. 22, 2011, with Hodgkin’s lymphoma while he was a college sophomore. The disease is a cancer of the lymphatic system in which cells grow abnormally and eventually compromise the body’s ability to fight infection.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/ridgewood-man-fights-cancer-in-the-ring-1.1032936#sthash.C2lvoGwz.dpuf

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2 more bone marow drives planned for Ridgewood man with lymphoma

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2 more bone marow drives planned for Ridgewood man with lymphoma

MARCH 28, 2014    LAST UPDATED: FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2014, 1:21 AM
BY CHRIS HARRIS
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD

Two drives will be held for Ridgewood man with lymphoma

RIDGEWOOD — Several failed attempts to find a bone marrow donor for Anthony Daniels proved to be a blessing for five other cancer patients.

For 22-year-old Daniels, though, the search continues.

Two more drives will be held Saturday morning to help find a match for Daniels, who was diagnosed at 19 with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a ferocious form of cancer of the immune system that attacks white blood cells.

Daniels has twice beaten the cancer into remission, but it returned again several months ago.

– See more at: https://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/search-still-on-for-bone-marrow-match-1.753259#sthash.Enm8r5Im.dpuf