Media Contact: Elaine Wohl
516-465-2600/2615
ewohl@nshs.edu

LAKE SUCCESS, NY -- Darryl Strawberry, a baseball legend in New York who won four world championships with both the Mets and the Yankees, was the keynote speaker at North Shore University Hospital’s and LIJ Medical Center’s Fifth Annual Cancer Survivors’ Day, held Saturday outside the Monter Cancer Center in Lake Success, NY.

A record crowd of more than 3,000 cancer survivors and their guests attended the event, where they enjoyed music, dancing, toasts and inspiring personal stories under a football field-sized tent. While Mr. Strawberry, who enjoyed a 17-year playing career, was voted to the All-Star Game eight times and won World Series rings with the Mets in 1986 and the Yankees in 1996, 1998 and 1999, his greatest win of all was as a two-time colon cancer survivor.

The huge gathering listened attentively as Mr. Strawberry spoke about getting the word from his doctors that he, a world-class athlete, had colon cancer. He described what he went through in overcoming the dreaded disease in 1998, only to find out two years later that it had reappeared, once again taking over his life.

Mr. Strawberry’s cancer recovery and other personal ups and downs are chronicled in his New York Times’ best-selling autobiography, “Straw: Finding My Way.” He is also a staunch advocate for children with autism and their families – he and his wife Tracy started the Darryl Strawberry Foundation, based in St. Louis, Missouri, a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about autism issues. He also works to generate funds needed for specialized facilities and educational programs that provide hope for individuals and groups in need. For instance, he speaks to young people in juvenile correctional facilities in the hope that he can help them find a way to end self-destructive behavior, make the right decisions in life and not to give up on themselves.

Mr. Strawberry signed autographs for hundreds of attendees after speaking for more than a half-hour.

Among others greeting the gathering of patients, family, friends and clinicians were Michael Dowling, president and chief executive officer of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, and Richard Goldstein, chairman of North Shore-LIJ, who introduced Mr. Strawberry and presented him with the gift of a special lab coat embroidered with his name, making him an honorary member of the North Shore-LIJ clinical faculty.

Also speaking were two local cancer survivors who discussed their own inspiring, personal battles with cancer and how they overcame the disease: Jacqueline Burris of Great Neck, a uterine cancer survivor, and Jeff Dena of Commack, a survivor of throat cancer – even though he never smoked.

About North Shore-LIJ Health System
The nation's second-largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, North Shore-LIJ delivers world-class clinical care throughout the New York metropolitan area, pioneering research at The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research and a visionary approach to medical education, highlighted by the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. The winner of the National Quality Forum’s 2010 National Quality Healthcare Award, North Shore-LIJ cares for people at every stage of life at 15 hospitals, long-term care facilities and more than 200 ambulatory care centers throughout the region. North Shore-LIJ’s owned hospitals and long-term care facilities house about 5,600 beds, employ more than 10,000 nurses and have affiliations with more than 9,000 physicians. Its workforce of about 43,000 is the largest on Long Island and the ninth-largest in New York City. For more information, go to www.northshorelij.com.