Celebrating Larissa Gionfriddo Podermanski Five Years Later

My daughter Larissa died of Metastatic Breast Cancer five years ago, in May of 2018.

She had only two wishes at the end. One was that we plant a tree for her. We did - in a Middletown CT city park - and it has grown straight and tall. The other was that she not be forgotten.

Larissa's family and friends took pains to reassure that she could not be forgotten. If you were fortunate enough to know Larissa, you would know why.

Still, I wondered how I might celebrate her a little more now that some years have passed, while sharing some of her memorable spirit with others (some who knew her and others who did not), while reminding us why she was such an extraordinary woman.

In early 2017, Larissa started a blog called Metastatically Speaking, through which she chronicled her life with MBC. Unfortunately - and through no one's fault - her blog disappeared some time after her death. So, if you search for it now, you can't find it.

However, I was fortunate enough to see and retain drafts of a small handful of her blogs, which together create a special portrait of a courageous young woman living, shining, and thriving in the face of dire health realities. So, a few weeks ago, I decided that I might republish these, with some additional light editing.

So, those are the 11 blogs that follow this one, in reverse chronological order (her final blog is the next one, the oldest furthest down the list). Together, they comprise roughly 5,000 of Larissa's own words describing her MBC journey. They are filled with humor, optimism, and strength, as well as some sadness and grieving.

They are an extraordinary gift to all of us who lived these days with her, and I hope to many others who will find hope and meaning in them.

Larissa was inspired to write her blog in part because of the emotional support she received from two nonprofits - the Pink Agenda and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. She would encourage anyone with an interest in breast cancer to support these organizations.

by Paul Gionfriddo, May 8 2023

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