Massapequa resident Christopher Florentino has been diagnosed with his second bout with Non-Hodgkin's Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Having beaten this cancer as a single man at age 27, Chris is resolved to beat it again as a 36-year old husband and parent of two girls, ages 2 and 5.

In the nine years since Chris's first fight, one of the biggest advances has been the creation of the National Marrow Donor Program. For Chris and the thousands of other people fighting this and other cancers, a bone marrow transplant is the best chance for a cure.

Chris' best chance of finding a donor is within people of Italian heritage. However, he and his family are asking any and all compassionate individuals between the ages of 18 and 60 to take a moment and have a marrow-typing test from a mouth swab to determine if they might be the missing piece for Chris' cure.

Registering and testing can be done at a drive that will take place on Thursday, Oct. 30, between 3;00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at The Sons Of Italy-Columbus Lodge (Stewart Thomas Manor), 2143 Boundary Avenue, Farmingdale.

For those who are unable to attend the drive yet want to register, please go to: www.marrow.org to order a kit or find out where a local drive is being held. They can also contact Mrs. Anna Florentino at domanna68@hotmail.com.