Written by John Cheng
The Cheng Family is the epitome of what American Dream is all about. Our father, Chung Ko Cheng and our mother Yau Sau Ying Cheng came to America with their 4 children and a baby on the way in 1968 with nothing but a big dream to be successful in their new home. And through their dedication, hard work and sacrifices during the ensuing years. Our father became a very successful business leader within the NY Chinese business community while our mother was holding the fort at the home front in raising us 5 kids. Through all their effort and dedication in raising the family, our parents never let us forget what family unity and value are about (love, respect, honor, sharing and forgiveness). And this is the legacy that our parents have bestowed on us for us to cherish in generations to come. The current Cheng Family has 32 members and span 3 generations.
Unfortunately, our mother passed away 16 years ago from this dreadful disease called cancer. For 9 and ½ years, she battled this disease courageously without one ounce of self-pity. Our father sadly, passed away 4 years later with a broken heart. When our mother was diagnosed with stage 3 stomach cancer at the New York Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in 1998, we were told that her life expectancy would probably be no more than 2 years. In desperation, my brother Jimmy suggested that we sought Dr. Nissanblatt’s help. And through his treatment and tender loving care, we were able to have our mother with us till February 28th, 2009. Throughout this whole ordeal, Dr. Nissanblatt was there every step of the way with words of encouragement and comfort. In 2018, my wife Linda was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. And again, Dr. Nissanblatt with his treatments completely eradicated the disease and now she is completely free of cancer. We are proud to proclaim that she is a cancer survivor.
If there is an angel in real life, Dr. Nisssanblatt would certainly be Cheng Family’s angel. We owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Nussanblatt for which the Cheng Family will forever be indebted to. Whatever our contribution to the cause and research of ACS, it would only scratch the surface of our indebtedness to the effort of ACS and Dr. Nissanblatt.
For years, my brother Jimmy and my sister-in-law Lisa have been active members of the ACS team in furthering the cause of ACS. I would like to express, on behalf of myself and the rest of the Cheng Family members, a resounding thank you and are very proud of you two and our parents would be as well. I am certain that they are smiling down at us with a big smile and know that they did a great job as parents. Thank you Epa and Ema !! We all misses you dearly. You two will always be in our hearts forever.
And in honor of our parents, I pledged on behalf of Cheng Family that we will continue to support the effort and dedication of ACS and Dr. Nissanblatt to find a cure for cancer for ages to come.
I would like to thank the ACS, Dr. Nissanblatt and the Hoffmans for bestowing this tremendous honor on our family. THANK YOU!!
