CASUAL Day 2024


CASUAL Day 2024 will be the 21st year of this fundraising and awareness campaign. This event is in memory of Helen Philips.

In February of 2002, Helen Phillips was diagnosed with colon cancer. Less than six months later, the cancer took her life. In 2003, Helen’s family and friends approached the Cancer Institute to undertake a community awareness initiative to promote colorectal cancer screening – a preventative act which might have saved Helen’s life.

We are happy to announce black as the color for this year’s t-shirt. We will continue to offer a short-sleeved and long-sleeved T-shirt, a new Argyle design for CASUAL socks, and a new product, a baseball cap. If you are interested in learning more about sponsorship or becoming a team captain, please call us at (570) 904-8808 or visit our website, www.cancernepa.org.

In addition, Alessandro Smeraldi, MD will serve as our 2024 CASUAL Day Chair. Dr. Smeraldi is a board-certified vascular surgeon. He provides care for women and men who need a wide range of vascular procedures. Dr. Smeraldi earned his medical degree from The Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York, followed by a general surgery residency at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, New Jersey, and a vascular surgery fellowship at Staten Island University Hospital in New York.

Dr. Smeraldi is an active member of the Society for Vascular Surgery and Society for Vascular Ultrasound. He is proud to serve his community and values the interaction he has with those in his care. Additionally, he serves as a clinical professor of surgery and resident mentor at the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine in Scranton.

Dr. Smeraldi draws daily strength from the love of his wife, Gail and their children Hayley and Caleb.