Heights Family, Friends Plan Fundraiser to Help Youngster Fight Cancer

Family and friends of 5-year old Bella Denisulk, whose family hails from Hasbrouck Heights, will gather at General Poor’s Tavern in Hackensack on Friday to help this young girl's fight against cancer.

Bella is the daughter of Diana Pertuz, a 1995 graduate of Hasbrouck Heights High School. Her many close family and friends have put the fundraiser together to help Bella in her fight and to aid the family in their expenses.

Samantha Benanti, a close friend of the family, said the Pertuz family now resides in Florida and has been returning to the home area every three months so Bella can undergo treatment at Sloan Kettering in New York. Bella is the granddaughter of George and Martha Pertuz, longtime Heights residents, Benanti said.

"Bella is ready to fight this monster again and we are ready to help her in any way possible. We want to help her so she can continue exploring, trying, learning, loving, playing, and living in the way that little girls do," the event flyer which family and friends put together states.

Bella was first diagnosed when she was just 2-and-a-half years old with high risk stage four neuroblastoma, which spread to her abdomen, vertebrae, bone marrow and right leg. She went through treatments and surgery to remove the cancer, went into remission and was declared a long term survivor at the end of 2011. According to family and friends, the cancer returned this past January when a small tumor was found in Bella’s neck.  

The event this Friday at General Poor’s includes appetizers, live music and raffles for a $20 donation per person with all proceeds benefitting Bella. The event will run from 6 p.m. to midnight.

See the attached flyer for additional information and learn how to make a donation to her cause if not able to attend the fundraiser.