Oct 6, 2014 3 min read

Most have never heard of the disease paraganglioma. For Christy Hazaga and her mother Debra Mayotte, both of Pleasant Hills, the diagnosis is all too familiar.

Mayotte lost one daughter, Veronica, to the disease in 2002 when she was 30, and she will do anything in her power to have Hazaga, 36, conquer the cancer and live a full and happy life.

Paraganglioma is an adrenaline-producing tumor that appears outside of the adrenal gland. The tumors are rare and grow in cells of the peripheral nervous system. Mayotte’s two daughters inherited the gene from their father Charles, who also died from the disease.

Currently, Hazaga is part of an experimental trial in Houston, Texas, at Excel Diagnostics and Nuclear Oncology Center. Mayotte said the treatment is “promising” and “novel.”

After treatment at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh, about 12 surgeries, radiation treatments and chemotherapy, the end result was not sufficient, Mayotte said, so Hazaga sought out the experimental treatment.

Hazaga undergoes treatments of one-to-two weeks every few months. The treatment has some success in Switzerland and is covered, in part, by insurance, Mayotte said. However, the additional costs of airline flights, hotel stays, meals and rental cars are not covered.

As a result, Mayotte has organized Christy’s Chili Cook-Off to help defray some costs. The event will be held beginning at 6 p.m. Oct. 17 at Buffalo Inn in South Park. For $25, there will be the chili cook-off plus a buffet, beer and soft drinks. Liquor will be BYOB with free mixers. The night will also feature raffles, a Chinese auction, door prizes and entertainment.

“I’m 99 percent Christy will be there,” Mayotte said of her daughter who will return from Texas Oct. 10.

Daughter Veronica battled the disease for only 13 months between her diagnosis and her death. Christy has been fighting for almost eight years. Hazaga was her sister’s stem cell donor.

One of the most important reasons Hazaga is fighting is for her son, Parker, 8.

“We take care of our grandson, like taking him to sports and to the doctor’s,” Mayotte said. “He’s like more of my own than my grandson.”

Parker does not carry the gene that may result in paraganglioma, she said with a sigh of relief.

However, one of Veronica’s two sons is a carrier and has a 75 percent chance of developing paraganglioma. He is tested periodically. Mayotte said she understands that her other son, who does not live in the area, has not been tested.

As for her grandson Parker, “He keeps her going. He keeps us all going.”

Tickets for the cook-off may be purchased at the door or by calling Mayotte at 412-848-2222.