16 SHOWCASE • October 1,, 2015 • GoErie.comH

BATTLING BREAST CANCER A TIMES-NEWS SPECIAL REPORT

No strings attachedShe’s a jeweler, not a musi-

cian. But no one may bemore gifted with stringsthan Elisa Guida. She turns

used guitar and bass strings, donat-ed by famous music stars, into jew-elry such as pendants, rings andnecklaces.

Proceeds from jewelry sales ben-efit StringsforaCure Foundation,the nonprofit agency she beganfour years ago to help women withcancer. Women like Guida, 60,who’s battled breast cancer twice.

So far, approximately 100 artists— including Jon Bon Jovi, PatMonahan, Carlos Santana, ChrisDaughtry, Melissa Etheridge, Wil-lie Nelson and Bret Michaels —have donated their used stringsand — in turn — helped more than1,000 Erie-area women.

The organization provides finan-cial assistance to cancer patients, aswell as medical grants, comfort bas-kets, educational and emotionalsupport.

Guida — a longtime music fan— brainstormed the idea in 2008,just three years after she faced hersecond bout with breast cancer.

“I’m a jeweler by trade,” she said.“And in 2008, Ed (Saloum, her hus-band) and I were at a Bon Jovi con-cert in Pittsburgh, and I came upwith the idea of getting famousmusicians to donate their used gui-tar strings. I’d design the jewelry,and help people with breast cancer.”

Helping via musicians madesense. Guida was 9 when she sawthe Beatles on “The Ed SullivanShow” and became a fan for life.When the Beatles played Philadel-phia, she headed downtown to tryto spot them, to no avail.

“We were in all the chaos,” shesaid, “but they brought them in in

a fish truck.”When she was just 17, a Philadel-

phia radio station offered a pair ofconcert tickets to a lucky caller.

Guida won them and saw GeorgeHarrison’s legendary Concert for

Bangladesh from the third row witha zillion stars.

“Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, BillyPreston, Leon Russell, George Har-rison, Ringo Starr (were there), anddo you know what? I wanted John

Lennon to come,” she said. “Johnwas supposed to come, and then he(didn’t) at the last minute. WhenDylan came on, the place went cra-zy. Me and my girlfriend just satthere because we wanted Lennon.

I’m in the movie five times!”She hopes to get P

ney’s bass strings at some point —that’s her biggest dream — butsecuring Bruce Springsteen guitarstrings would be cool, too, she said.

By Dave RichardsStaff writer

FOR A CAUSE: How musicians joined the fight against cancerHEAR ITThe fourth annual Pickin’on Cancer fundraiserwith Silverlight forStringsforaCure Founda-tion is Friday at 6:30p.m. at the Clarion LakeErie & Bel-Aire Confer-ence Center. It includesa silent auction for JonBon Jovi and MelissaEtheridge jewelry. Tick-ets are $60 per person; alimited amount will beavailable at the door. Formore on the organiza-tion, including featuredjewelry, see www.stringsforacure.org.

SEE THESILvERLIGHT

Silverlight has playedeach and every Pickin’on Cancer fundraiser,but Friday’s show will bea bit different.

Bill Arnold, one of theband’s original members,now lives in Florida andcan’t make it. GuitaristTim McLaughlin and MikeMiller will replace him andexpand the band’s classic-rock set.

“They’re got theirrepertoire that’s goingto be merged with ours,”said bassist Derf Hopsec-ger. “And Mike’s wife,Marie, will join us on afew songs. Mike Miller isbringing in the bulk ofthe Elvis (Presley) andsome other countrytunes. Tim is bringing inCanned Heat and someof the James Gangtunes, too.”

The group also figuresto play songs by the Doo-bie Brothers, Buddy Guyand the Beatles, a favor-ite of StringsforaCurefounder Elisa Guida.

“Elisa was hoping toreally have some gooddance for the folks, andthat’s what we’re focus-ing on,” said Hopsecger,who’ll be joined by Sil-verlight’s Chuck Leone(keys) and Rik Cass(drums).

The show will feature apoignant highlight. Cancersurvivors will join togetherto sing Melissa Etheridge’s“I Run for Life.” Ether-idge, fittingly, is one ofnearly 100 musicianswho’ve donated usedstrings to Stringsfora-Cure and she’s also acancer survivor.

— Dave Richards

SARAH CROSBY

Elisa Guida, 60, a two-time breast cancer survivor and founder of StringsforaCure, provides support for the breastby raising funds through one-of-a-kind jewelry made using guitar strings donated by famous musicians. Guida displayswith strings from Jonny Buckland, left, and strings from Melissa Etheridge.

GoErie.com • October 1,, 2015 • SHOWCASE 17

ST CANCER A TIMES-NEWS SPECIAL REPORT

PATTI LARSON/Contributed photos

The StringsforaCure Foundation made the burden easier for Catherine Datte, left, and Elnora Johnson.

Who’s been helpedCatherine Datte needed to

make frequent trips duringwinter to the Cleveland Clinicfor cancer treatments and

didn’t want her daughter shoulderingthe burden for all that fuel. ElnoraJohnson needed an expensive type ofsoap for radiation burns sustained dur-ing cancer treatment.

StringsforaCure Foundation helpedthem both with those issues and more.The nonprofit agency, based in Erie,provides financial assistance — such asgrocery, gas and pharmacy cards — aswell as medical grants to help cancerpatients, primarily those with breastcancer.

“My daughter was coming to helpme; she drove six hours with her baby— a year-and-a-half-old baby — totake me to Cleveland for treatmentand bring me back,” said Datte, 60,the director of Gannon UniversityCenter for Excellence in Teaching andLearning. “So, when I filled out theapplication (for StringsforaCure) andgot a card in the mail, I kind of brokedown in tears and said, ‘Oh, my God— they really do this.’

“I was able to let my daughter use itfor gas, and it funded two full roundtrips of driving back and forth.”

Johnson moved from Philadelphiaback to Erie in 2014 to be near herfamily while dealing with cancer.

“Moving back to Erie was scary forme; I was in the middle of radiation,”said Johnson, who moved on Christ-mas Eve. The American Cancer Soci-ety directed her to StringsforaCureFoundation, which helped her secure aWal-Mart gift card.

“I was able to get the products Ineeded for my skin, which were veryexpensive,’ said Johnson, 47. “Thoseare things that medical cards don’t payfor.”

StringsforaCure also provided herwith emotional support. She took partin the organization’s Faces of Stringsphoto shoot for a poster featuringwomen helped by the organization.

“When they asked me to do thephoto shoot,” Johnson said, “it liftedmy spirits because I felt like I was sougly because of everything I was goingthrough. But when I looked at the pic-tures, they were so beautiful. It was

my inner beauty. This helped me withmy self-esteem, and they’re so helpfulwith anything, like trying to findthings that I needed.

“It’s so wonderful,” she added. “Ihad never heard of (the foundation)before, but everywhere I go, I telleverybody about them. It’s somethingin Erie that’s really helped me, andI’m very thankful.”

Johnson said she’s still battlingbreast cancer. “Every day is a struggle,but I’m better than I was,” she said.Datte is doing well; she says regularexercise and a positive attitude helpedher, in addition to surgery and treat-ments. She’ll attend Friday’s Strings-foraCure Foundation fundraiser andplans to do more to help organizationfounder Elisa Guida.

“My personal goal is to help raisefunds for her project and her pro-grams,” Datte said.

Guida said StringsforaCure hashelped more than 825 patients withmore than $124,000 in direct aid,including 50 medical grants for medi-cal bills and equipment.

— Dave Richards

No strings attached

I’m in the movie five times!”She hopes to get Paul McCart-

’s bass strings at some point —that’s her biggest dream — butsecuring Bruce Springsteen guitarstrings would be cool, too, she said.

She doesn’t often meet the celebri-ties who donate but did get to chatwith Daughtry and Michaels.

In 1995, meeting music stars wasthe last thing on her mind.

“I was 40 years old, a newlywedand was actually hoping to start afamily with my husband. Instead, Igot (a) breast cancer diagnosis,”Guida said. “I was young.”

She was shocked.“I had no lump,” she said. “If

women are just waiting to feel alump during their self exams, I didnot feel a lump. I had suspiciousmammograms, and then, of course,I had biopsies, which diagnosed thebreast cancer.”

Following lumpectomy, lymph-node removal and radiation treat-ments, her breast cancer went intoremission though her right armremained numb for nine and a halfyears — not great for a jeweler.

“I didn’t let it stop me. Lifewent on,” Guida said. “Then, whenthe sensation started coming back,that’s when I was diagnosed again.”

In November, 2005, she was diag-nosed not only with a recurrence buta rare, invasive tubular breast canceras well. This time, though, sherecovered more quickly.

“It was a miracle. I had a mastec-tomy on a Monday, I was home on aTuesday, and I was out groceryshopping on a Friday. I had no pain,and I had no bruising, but I attri-bute that to my wonderful sur-geon,” Guida said. “And I havestrong faith. I had a healing per-formed on me a week prior to mysurgery,” she said.

2015 marks the 10th and 20thanniversaries of her cancer bouts.So far, she’s fine.

“I was checked this year; thingsare good,” Guida said. “I don’t cele-brate. I’m not one of the ones thatcelebrates. I’m just thankful, everyday, for good health.”

SARAH CROSBY/Erie Times-News

for the breast cancer communitymusicians. Guida displays earrings made