Page 20 - BusinessWest September 14 2020

REINTRODUCING THE 2020 >>
Sandy Cassanelli
COVID Has Brought New ChalSlenges to an Already-intense Cancer Fight
andy Cassanelli has always been a fighter. reasons, she began working at home back Which is good, because these first nine in March. “And my husband, Craig, had to
months of 2020, the year of COVID, have be careful to make sure he wasn’t bringing tested her in every way imaginable. anything home to me; he would take off his
Let’s start with her health. As most know, she was diagnosed with stage-4 breast cancer four years ago, and has been not only fighting that
“We had to reinvent the wheel and go out to different suppliers just to get these items. And we’re still struggling — we’re still reinventing the wheel.”
fight, but helping others fight it as well through the Breast Friends Fund, a charity that raises funds that go directly to metastatic breast- cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Having a terminal illness in the middle of a pandemic, though, brings even more challenges to the fore.
“There was the realization that this virus could kill me,” she said, noting that, for obvious
Dianne Fuller Doherty
clothes in the garage and run up to the shower every day. He jokes that I would spray Lysol on him before I would let him in the house.”
Meanwhile, as she started a new treatment regimen and underwent tests and biopsies, the protocols were much different.
“At Dana-Farber, my husband always comes with me — he’s never missed an appointment,” she explained. “But once everyone started locking down, only the patients could go, so I had to go from my first scans to see if my new treatment was working by myself. And since March, I’ve had to go to every appointment by myself. It’s been very challenging not to have the support of my husband.”
Let’s move on to her business that she manages with Craig — Greeno Supply. Near the top of the list of the products it supplies to a wide range of customers are a number of items in high demand but short supply during the pandemic — paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies ... all those things. Getting
Cassanelli
Continued on page 26
This Advocate and Cheerleader Remains Active on Many Fronts
When we first introduced Dianne Fuller Doherty back in February, we used the term ‘semi-retired’ to describe her status — and it’s the appropriate phrase to use.
Indeed, while she has stepped down from her role as director of the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network’s Western Mass. office, she remains heavily involved in this region, and on a number
of fronts — everything from mentoring
young people, especially women, to serving
on several boards and being part of a few prominent search committees, such as the one that eventually chose Robert Johnson to be the sixth president of Western New England University (see story, page 29).
And most, if not all, of her work has been in some way impacted by COVID-19, including that search at WNEU, and another at Tech Foundry.
“We never met any of the candidates — only the winner after he had been given the position,” she said of the WNEU search, noting that all interviews were conducted remotely,
Doherty
Continued on page 27
“The best advice I give
to people is to ask enough questions so that they can come to the right conclusion on whether this is the right time, or the right place, or the right financial backing
to go forward. You let them come to the decision about whether it’s a ‘no.’ And if it’s a ‘yes,’ then you just try to be as supportive as possible and it them know that there are going to be highs and lows in any business, and the challenges will come. But the rewards will come also.”
20 SEPTEMBER 14, 2020
BusinessWest
Photo by Leah Martin Photography
Photo by Leah Martin Photography