Coping by helping others

Cancer made 11-year-old Tommy Conforti and movie producer Frankie Smith friends.

Tommy has acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The disease attacks the body’s white blood cells and weakens the immune system.

Smith, who lives in Corona del Mar, was diagnosed with the same disease when he was 14. He and Tommy met through one of Tommy’s neighbors, who suggested the two cancer survivors get to know each other. Now, the two trade sarcastic jokes and talk about movies together like brothers.

“Meeting another survivor gives you hope; it’s living proof,” Smith said. “And the friendship has been therapeutic for me, as well.”

Now the two friends are planning a party to raise money for cancer research. With Smith’s help, Tommy and his mother have organized a fundraiser party for the CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation on Saturday at a Newport Coast mansion owned by Dave Conley, a vice president at the Irvine Co.

Tommy was in the second grade when another of his friends, in Florence, Italy, also was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Tommy, who was born in Florence, moved to Newport Beach with his mother and sister, Vittoria, 8, last year.

“We’d fight and make up, fight and make up, but I have to say [Andrea] was a pretty good friend,” Tommy said. “He was really smart.”

Four months after his friend Andrea died from the disease, Tommy was also diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

“People were all wondering what was going on, why there were two boys sick,” said Tommy, who has since been back to visit his friend’s grave in Florence.

In honor of Andrea, Tommy donated $50 to the nonprofit CureSearch, which funds medical research on childhood cancer.

Now Tommy wants to raise more money for the organization.

Tommy hopes the party at 6 p.m. Saturday, which will feature live music and refreshments, will raise money to find a cure for cancers that commonly affect children, like acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

To get the ball rolling, Tommy has donated another $75 to CureSearch.

“I wanted to pick a group that was doing something to help kids in the future,” he said.

After he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2005, Tommy underwent six months of chemotherapy and three years of follow-up treatments.

His mother, a U.S. citizen who lived in Italy for more than 20 years, moved Tommy and his sister to Newport Beach after he finished his treatments.

Just as Tommy’s hair was starting to grow back and he was making friends as a fifth-grader at Newport Elementary School, the cancer returned.

Tommy just returned to his Balboa Peninsula home from his latest four-day stay at Children’s Hospital of Orange County for cancer treatments earlier this week.

His mother, Katherine Huddleston, stays with Tommy in the hospital while he undergoes treatment.

Her friends and neighbors have helped her by doing everything from offering moral support to looking after their house during Tommy’s treatments. Saturday’s fundraiser is a way to give back to the community, she said.

“We are living proof that it takes a village to raise a child, and I want to thank this wonderful Balboa village for everything that has been done for us,” Huddleston said.

How To Help

For more information on Tommy Conforti’s party at Irvine Co. Vice President Dave Conley’s home in Newport Coast at 6 p.m. Saturday, visit www.lovefortommy.com.

Reservations are required.

Donations to CureSearch National Childhood Cancer Foundation also can be made through the website.

Local businesses Cucina Alessa, Port Restaurant and Bar and A Market are major sponsors of the event.