Party To Raise Funds For Cancer Research Hosted By Northport's Handler Hope Foundation

NORTHPORT, NY — The Handler Hope Foundation, a Northport-based nonprofit, is gearing up for its second annual "A Night Out With 1 North," scheduled for Aug. 17 in Huntington.

The event is slated to run 5 to 9 p.m. at Repeal XVIII, at 30 New St., Huntington. The party will further the foundation's mission of raising funds, awareness and research for HER2 positive and NNN breast cancers. The party will feature food, drinks, entertainment and raffles.

Tickets can be purchased here.

The event aims to provide appreciation to the staff of Huntington Hospital's Cancer Center, 1 North, while raising funds for the Lauren Handler research fund in collaboration with Northwell Health.

Lauren Handler was a wife and mother who died on May 19, 2022, at the age of 38, after battling HER2-positive estrogen negative breast cancer for more than two years.

Her husband, Darren Handler, started the Handler Hope Foundation to raise funds for research into two common breast cancers.

"All breast cancers are scary and life changing for the patients and their loved ones," Darren told Patch. "We know HER2 Positive and Triple Negative breast cancers change the rules of engagement by being significantly more likely for metastasis. Yet we do nothing different to protect these patients. We need guidelines for our doctors and insurance companies that provide a chance for a better prognosis for these patients. We know that early detection and monitoring are our best weapons against cancer yet we don’t apply these weapons to HER2 Positive and Triple Negative breast cancer survivors in proportion to their risk. Handler Hope Foundation is funding research that will change the guidelines so these weapons can be utilized."

The Handler Hope Foundation pledged a $75K donation to the Northwell Health Lauren Handler research fund in 2023. The foundation made its initial installment of $25K in April. The upcoming "A Night Out with 1 North" event will mark the second $25K installment with the final $25K scheduled for December.

Darren Handler said the primary purpose of "A Night Out With 1 North" is to express gratitude to the compassionate staff of Huntington Hospital's Cancer Center, who "tirelessly care for cancer patients in the community." The event provides a complimentary night out as a token of appreciation for their "unwavering dedication."

The event is also a fundraising platform for the Lauren Handler research fund. The fund was established in 2022 through a $25K donation from the Handler Hope Foundation.

The fund partners with Northwell Health to propel the research efforts of Chief of Neurosurgery Dr. Robert Gawley Kerr and Chief of Radiation Medicine Dr. Heather Zinken.

"Their groundbreaking research aims to prove that routine monitoring and detection of HER2-positive and NNN breast cancers can significantly improve the prognosis for patients battling these aggressive subtypes," the foundation wrote.

Lauren Handler was declared cancer free months after her initial diagnosis in May 2020. Before and after her cancer free designation, she asked for brain scans to be sure the cancer was gone. Her doctors assured her a brain scan was not warranted and there was no need to expose her to the radiation of imaging scans, the foundation wrote on its website.

Lauren, not feeling well in November 2020, visited the emergency room. She did not return home for a few months after a mass in her brain was discovered.

She faced several surgeries and needed intensive physical and occupational therapy. The home care services she received were inadequate, the foundation wrote.

In May 2022, imaging showed cancer throughout her brain.

"There was no reasonable or humane path forward to continue treating Lauren," the foundation wrote. "...It would be wrong to say that Lauren lost her battle with cancer because she never stopped fighting. No matter how sick she was, she was always fiercely determined. When anyone else would have broken, Lauren stayed strong. Through her, we know what resilience and perseverance truly look like. There are no words that can properly express how tragic and unfair this is. Such a bright, beautiful woman should not have been taken from this world at such a young age. We will continue our mission in her memory to help others fight as ferociously as she did."