Tiffanie Salvadia, 14, of Enola, the only child of Deneen Gethouas and John Salvadia, woke up one day last October thinking it was just any day. But by nightfall, she was a cancer patient.

Tiffanie suffers from an extremely rare form of ovarian cancer. She spends three days per week at Hershey Medical Center for unusually high doses of chemotherapy. The widely known side effects, such as hair loss, have affected her as well.

Still, she attends school as much as possible and has a tutor for help when necessary. Although she has had to pass up playing for the East Pennsboro Middle School basketball and track teams, she was delighted to talk about the upcoming three-on-three Capital City basketball tournament she is bound and determined to play.

"I am going to play basketball this year, as long as my doctors say it’s okay," Tiffanie said, with a smile.

"Everyone’s always saying how tough she is," said Salvadia, a Harrisburg City police officer. "She refuses to take any pain medication."

To Tiffanie’s doctors, she is known as "the little pink Energizer bunny," and it’s apparent upon meeting her that she feels she can win this serious battle. Her positive attitude radiates from her youthful, cheery face.

Doctors first diagnosed Tiffanie’s condition in October, 1999, when she went to the gynecologist for what seemed like a routine teenage problem — irregular menstrual cycles. Before she knew it, she was at Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, undergoing her first biopsy. Oncologists told her that she was one of three children known to have contracted this specific cancer, Sertoli-Leydig and non-blue spindle cell sarcoma.

Since then, she has survived another biopsy, a hysterectomy, and two other surgeries. Currently, she only occasionally needs to visit Johns Hopkins.

But Tiffanie is not fighting her battle without help. One local non-profit organization, the Celebration of Life Foundation (CLF), is sponsoring a benefit concert to raise money to assist with the funds Tiffanie continues to need in her struggle.

The CLF began primarily as a musicians’ coalition in support of other musicians, but has, over the past four years since its inception, expanded to musicians helping the general community.

Tammi Taylor, founder of CLF, explained that the foundation is now a coalition of musicians and local volunteers providing event planning, musical, technical, media, and personnel resources for individuals in need of charitable funds. In this organization, volunteers experience not only an enriching time, but also a pleasurable one, having fun while working to make a difference in the lives of the people in Central PA.

CLF’s first event was a benefit for Mitch Ivanoff, a musician with Krypton City Blues, when Ivanoff was in need of charitable funds to help pay for the expenses of his open heart surgery. Following Ivanoff’s benefit, CLF put together a fundraiser for Rick Fairfield, former musician with Blue Grace who suffered from brain cancer. Through these and other musical benefits, CLF successfully raised well over $30,000.

"In our ongoing foundation, anyone in need can come to us for help and a benefit will be put together for them," says Taylor, who has contributed a large portion of her time and effort to making this foundation a success.

The need for this benefit is twofold, says Taylor. First, it will show the support and passion local musicians and other community volunteers have extended to those in need, and second, it will help a young community member and her family as they struggle with this rare disease. The profits from this benefit will assist with medical treatments, transportation, and other associated costs of Tiffanie’s care.

Tiffanie’s mother, an employee with the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, heard about the CLF from a friend at work. "The support that comes from the foundation, along with the support from friends and family has been great," says Gethouas, who attends weekly meetings held by the foundation in preparation for Tiffanie’s benefit.

Tiffanie’s "Celebration of Life" will be hosted by the Appalachian Brewing Company (ABC) on June 25 from 3:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m. The nine-hour benefit will include two stages with fifteen bands, a silent art auction, and raffle prizes. Local artists and venues that support the Celebration of Life Foundation have already donated the artwork and raffle items.

The wide range of musical talent will be the highlight of the benefit. On the acoustic stage will be performers Tony Perry and Ray Solinski, among others, while on the electric stage you will find anyone from the Martini Brothers and Clove to Hexbelt and Darcie Miner; all of whom are local performers and volunteers for the benefit. In addition, The River, 97.3 WRVV, will be supporting the benefit by providing on-air promotions and a live broadcast from the Brewery. Glenn Hamilton, Mid-day Announcer and Music Director at The River, says, "Tammi [Taylor] and I are good friends and this benefit is for a good cause. Radio support becomes the perfect marriage." He adds, "This is my first benefit, but definitely not my last."

Strawberry Square will also support the benefit a week prior to the event by hosting two live musical performances in the atrium over lunch hour.

Tiffanie is living as normal a life as possible, and her prospects are good. She attends school as much as possible and has a tutor for help when necessary. Although she had to pass up playing for the East Pennsboro Middle School basketball and track teams, she’s looking forward to participating in a three-on-three City basketball tournament. "I am going to play basketball this year," says Tiffanie with a smile. With a plethora of support surrounding her, she adds, "[Having cancer is] overwhelming at first but then you get used to it. My friends have really been great — everyone has."

When asked if she had any words of wisdom for other patients fighting disease, she said, "It may suck at first, but if you believe that you can fight it, it will happen in the end." With the help of CLF, things are looking better for her.

Sponsorships range from fifty to five hundred dollars, and include anything from program listings to onsite booths the day of the event. Anyone interested in volunteering, making donations, or committing to a sponsorship can call 957-3756 or 236-8881.