{"id":80329,"date":"2021-05-28T14:32:39","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T18:32:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/?p=80329"},"modified":"2021-05-28T14:39:29","modified_gmt":"2021-05-28T18:39:29","slug":"michelle-fazzaris-family-says-the-canadian-olympic-wrestler-is-fighting-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/local\/gta\/michelle-fazzaris-family-says-the-canadian-olympic-wrestler-is-fighting-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Fazzari’s family says the Canadian Olympic wrestler is fighting cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Michelle
Canadian wrestling Olympian Michelle Fazzari, 33, has been diagnosed with cancer, according to her family. (Supplied by Stephanie Fazzari)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michelle Fazzari was fighting for gold at a wrestling\u00a0event in\u00a0Rome when she\u00a0began to\u00a0notice something felt wrong.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oncologist fears \u2018tsunami of cancer\u2019 after COVID-19 lockdowns limited screening<\/a><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Canadian Olympian took home the\u00a0medal, but her body wasn’t bouncing back the way it usually does\u00a0and she was tired, says her twin sister, Stephanie.<\/p>\n

<\/section>\n

Concerned, Fazzari’s\u00a0family encouraged her to keep seeking tests and pushing for answers from\u00a0doctors.<\/p>\n

“As someone who’s wrestled with huge injuries in the past, and still goes on the mat and conquers it, for her to complain about this, we knew something was wrong,” said Stephanie.<\/p>\n

“But did we ever in a million years think cancer? No, we did not think cancer.”<\/p>\n

A doctor found the cancer during a biopsy for one of her sister’s surgeries, said Stephanie. The 33-year-old was diagnosed on April 16 and that night, her parents flew to Calgary where she was training.<\/p>\n

She’s now undergoing\u00a0chemotherapy and radiation at the Juravinski Cancer Centre in Hamilton, says Stephanie.<\/p>\n

The family has not disclosed exactly what type of cancer Michelle is struggling with, saying she’s not ready to share that detail as she adjusts to all of the changes in her life.<\/p>\n

“It has spread quite far,” said Stephanie, confirming the information she shared in a GoFundMe campaign\u00a0launched on her sister’s behalf. The site says\u00a0the disease is “stage 3C and has spread to her lymph nodes.”<\/p>\n

The fundraising campaign is aimed at gathering donations to cover living costs,\u00a0vitamins and an emergency fertility journey. It’s\u00a0seen a huge response, quickly blowing past its initial $15,000 goal and hitting more than $71,000 as of Friday morning.<\/p>\n

‘You don’t even need to ask and she’s there’<\/h2>\n

Stephanie credits that generosity to the character of the sister she teasingly nicknamed Mother Teresa.<\/p>\n

The twin says\u00a0her sister, who lives in the Beamsville, Ont., area, is kind, caring, and goes out of her way to volunteer her time and share her skills.<\/p>\n

“She’s always connected with people. She’s always gone above and beyond for others, expecting nothing in return,” said Stephanie. “You don’t even need to ask and she’s there.”<\/p>\n

\"Michelle
A fundraiser launched by the Olympian’s family has blown past its goal, a response Fazzari’s twin sister credits to her character and willingness to help others. (Supplied by Stephanie Fazzari)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Marty Calder, Fazzari’s coach with the Brock Wrestling Club, said\u00a0Michelle is\u00a0a “fighter,” adding she’s “like family” and that he wanted her to know she has all kinds of support.<\/p>\n

The executive director of Wrestling Canada Lutte, the national governing body for Olympic-style wrestling, also praised\u00a0the athlete’s\u00a0personality, describing her as someone who “always has a smile on her face” and doesn’t hesitate to tell it like it is.<\/p>\n

“She’s been a champion both on and off the mat [and] has been a mentor to other athletes,” said\u00a0Tamara Medwidsky.<\/p>\n

Had her eye on\u00a0Tokyo<\/h2>\n

The director said\u00a0Wrestling Canada Lutte wants to support Fazzari, noting the diagnosis comes at an especially difficult time for her as a competitor who’s been on\u00a0the national team for years.<\/p>\n

“This was part of her road to recovery and her road towards Tokyo,” said Medwidsky.<\/p>\n

“My heart goes out to her because I know that she’s been a longstanding team member. She’s pivoted so many times and come out on top through so many scenarios \u2026 and this is\u00a0just a situation at the worst possible time of her athletic career.”<\/p>\n

Medwidsky\u00a0said\u00a0posts on social media wishing Fazzari the best point to how much she’s loved and supported.<\/p>\n

“It’s a tragic situation and we’re all just rooting for her and hoping for the best for her and her family.”<\/p>\n

Stephanie said her sister was in incredible shape, working out three times a day while training for a spot in the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo following her 17th-place finish at the\u00a02016 games in Rio.<\/p>\n

Diagnosis a ‘huge blow’ for athlete<\/h2>\n

Her health problems went back as far as June of last year, but Stephanie says\u00a0repeated conversations with doctors\u00a0\u2014over the phone rather than in person due to COVID-19\u00a0\u2014 didn’t provide\u00a0clarity about what was going on.<\/p>\n

It’s a situation that’s frustrated the family, and Stephanie\u00a0says it’s\u00a0left her wondering if her sister’s\u00a0appearance as a healthy athlete, combined with\u00a0complications to care caused by\u00a0the pandemic, played a role in how late she was diagnosed.<\/p>\n

“I have no idea how this was missed. She went for every checkup she could.”<\/p>\n

Stephanie said\u00a0learning her sister was sick has been a “huge blow,” but the family is\u00a0staying positive.<\/p>\n

“Michelle’s always been the strong one. I have no doubt in my mind that she will power through this. It’s not the first obstacle she’s had in life.”<\/p>\n

CBC<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michelle Fazzari was fighting for gold at a wrestling\u00a0event in\u00a0Rome when she\u00a0began to\u00a0notice something felt wrong<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":80334,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3538],"tags":[4118,20156,20155],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Michelle-Fazzaris-family-says-the-Canadian-Olympic-wrestler-is-fighting-cancer-Milenio-Stadium-Ontario.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mileniostadium.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}