CRESTVIEW— 21st Century Oncology has $1,500 more to help others following a donation from Beef ‘O’ Brady’s and a partnership born from tragedy.
Michael Lango lost his wife last year to inflammatory breast cancer. This aggressive form of breast cancer is often not detected during a mammogram and at discovery is often in stage three or four, according to the National Institute of Health. Lango’s wife received about six months to live after her diagnosis; she fought for about three years with treatment from 21st Century.
Lango, a regular visitor to the Crestview Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, was introduced to owner Cliff Longshore and area manager Bill Ellison. The pair wanted to host a breast cancer fundraiser but had no direction, according to Ellison. They began planning the benefit after meeting Lango, who wanted proceeds donated to 21st Century.
The restaurant sold pink breast cancer awareness shirts, accepted donations, raised money from area businesses, sold raffle tickets and had a final “blow-out,” Ellison said.
“[The money] is for research and for education and also for patients for financial assistance,” 21st Century physician liaison Rolando Alvarez said. “It’s phenomenal; the need is huge in this area.”
“They do a lot of good things for a lot of people,” Lango said about 21st Century. He wants to see the fundraiser held each year during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“She had a dream to help others and that’s what this is about — helping others who might need it,” Lango said of his wife.
The concept isn’t new to the team at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s. The restaurant aims to assist the Crestview community as much as it can, according to Longshore.
“Beefs” recently came to the aid of Ryan Weekley, a local athlete who suffered a severe spinal cord injury in December. Weekley was transported to a facility in Atlanta to undergo rehabilitation and attempt to regain movement in most of his body.
Beef ‘O’ Brady’s hosted a fundraiser for Weekley on Saturday and Longshore, who owns another restaurant in Atlanta, said he recently visited the Crestview teenager.
“I was wearing my Crestview [High School] shirt and he just lit up,” Longshore said. “I think he was glad to see a local face for a change.”
The fundraiser for Weekley raised $2,800.
Monthly fundraisers for CHS athletic programs are also held at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s. The location also helped local police purchase K9 units, Ellison said.
“We try to do as many [fundraisers] as we can to help as much as we can,” Longshore said.
In a previous version of this article, Mike Lango's last name was incorrectly spelled. The News Bulletin staff apologizes for this error.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Restaurant supports breast cancer research, education