By Dubravka Kolumbic-Cortese | Correspondent
Danny Scerbo, 16, was walking home from Freehold Township High School on Dec. 12 when he felt a bump on his neck and texted his mom.
“I didn’t really tell him, but I was very worried,” his mother, Anna, recalled.
She took Danny to a clinic that same day, and the doctor’s office the next. Both times, the swollen lymph node was chalked up to a virus. But his mother’s instinct prevailed, and she took him for further testing.
An inconclusive ultrasound led to a needle biopsy Dec. 28. Two days later, they got the news – Danny was suspected to have Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The family was sent to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital that night, where numerous tests confirmed the diagnosis. The cancer, which had started in his chest, had spread to his neck and spleen.
“He’s had many side effects, many setbacks,” Anna Scerbo said of the four inpatient chemotherapy treatments Danny has endured since January. “But he’s always been very focused. He was so strong. I tell people this, that he really did make me strong.”
“My faith has been a big part of this,” Danny said. “We’ve been praying a lot, and it definitely worked.”
Danny was declared cancer-free April 19. “That was the best day of our lives,” his mother recalled.
Although the length of his treatment was significantly shorter than average, Danny still has weeks of radiation to complete before his journey is over. To help defray the family’s mounting medical expenses, their parish, St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, is hosting “A Day for Danny” fundraiser from 7 to 9:30 p.m. May 13 in the parish hall, featuring musical performances by Danny’s friends and members of the parish youth group and music ministry, both of which Danny is a member.
Danny, a talented musician and aspiring singer and song writer, was moved by the outpouring of support from parishioners and friends.
“It means so much to me,” he said. “I have the greatest family and the greatest friends, especially at St. Robert’s Church. The amount of support that we got from them was overwhelming.”
Anna Scerbo agreed. “People we didn’t even know from the church cooked for us,” she said. “That is the true definition of selflessness. They didn’t want any recognition or thanks. That’s very humble. That’s what our faith teaches us.”
Throughout Danny’s ordeal, the Scerbo family, which includes dad Bob and 21-year-old twins, Sarah and Jamie, has been buoyed by their unwavering faith.
“My faith has been everything,” Anna said. “I had my faith beforehand, but I pray every day. And you know what? I never had any anger or bitterness. I understand that that wouldn’t have helped the situation.”
Despite all the fear and pain the Scerbo family was going through, they were thoughtful enough to recognize and understand that their friends and family, who were suffering along with them, didn’t know, or were afraid of, what to say.
“Just say something, say anything,” she told them. “We would never judge. Nothing would be the wrong thing to say.”
Danny, a high school junior, is active in drama and chorus at school, as well as numerous clubs and organizations. He plays piano and guitar and has been producing his own music, attending open mics and performing in shows throughout the area. His battle with cancer has not dampened his youthful energy and enthusiasm.
“It’s so hard to put into words the amount of appreciation that me, my mom and my family feel for all the support,” Danny said. “Everyone’s been so amazing, and I’m just so grateful for them. It’s been so helpful, and it really got me through it. I feel like if I didn’t have them, it would have been a lot harder.”