Swab drive: Montrealer with blood cancer seeking life-saving stem cell match
Posted October 5, 2022 10:16 pm.
Last Updated October 5, 2022 11:43 pm.
Montreal’s Domenico Agostini never thought it could happen to him.
But when his doctor told him he had blood cancer — multiple myeloma – his life changed forever.
“Not in a million years I thought the word cancer, ‘you have cancer,’ would come out of the doctor’s mouth,” said Agostini.
Now the father of two – a five and seven-year-old – needs a stem cell donor to survive. His kids don’t know their dad has cancer.
“He’s my partner in crime, the father of my children,” said his wife Amanda Costa. “And I can’t see life without him.”
Before that March 18 diagnosis that changed his life, Agostini was convinced certain symptoms were simply related to injuring his back from a fall down a flight of stairs.
That was not the case.
“I’m actually in the hospital as we speak, I’m doing my second auto transplant, which is with my own cells,” he said.
“I take it day by day. I don’t think about it, I don’t say ‘why me?’”
The search has begun to find a stem cell match for the 39-year-old, who himself recently lost his father to cancer.
His family, in collaboration with the “Swab the World” organization, is holding a swab drive Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Francesco’s in Montreal’s Old Port.
“So far we have 900 people that registered online,” said Andrew Pololos, Agostini’s cousin. “So now we want to do it in person. You know, just take a little afternoon. It’s around Thanksgiving time. And obviously, time is of the essence. So we want people to come in numbers. It’s just a swab of the cheek.”
“It’s not just for me,” added a teary-eyed Agostini. “You could save somebody else’s life.”
Stem cell donors have the potential of saving a patient anywhere in the world. Signups are done through each country’s own registry.
Quebec residents can register through Héma-Quebec. Canadian residents outside Quebec can register via Canadian Blood Services.
“I can speak on behalf of my whole family,” said Pololos. “You know, we always knew Domenico was a strong individual and a strong guy and an amazing father. But now seeing his resilience and his strength going through this, you know, he’s a superhero for us now.”
“I want to thank everybody from the bottom of my heart and go out there and get swabbed,” added Agostini.
