When Anthony Iacono discovered that his son had leukemia three and a half years ago, a big part of his life changed. Iacono was on the upswing in his career after just having been named town administrator in Secaucus, but a dark cloud passed over his otherwise nearly-perfect life. And he made up his mind that he was not only going to help his own son, but help other kids with similar problems as well. Three years later, 12-year-old Paul Iacono is in remission, and Anthony Iacono has been named Man of the Year for 1999 by the New Jersey chapter of the national Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, sharing the honors with an Upper Montclair resident, Meryl Hillsberg. Anthony Iacono has run marathons and attended various events in order to help raise money for the cause, and said he is truly appreciative of those people who have given him money to help deal with the disease. Although not a contributing factor to his honor, Iacono has raised over $100,000 as individual, mailing out letters to family and friends, seeking their help in trying to find a cure. That amount was the largest amount of money raised for the cause by an individual in the country last year. Over the years, the Iacono family received a great deal of support from the Leukemia Society. Anthony Iacono said Paul has become a motivating factor in his life. “Paul inspires me every day,” Iacono said. “The way he has accepted this and how he deals with his life. Even on his worst day, he has treated life as if a gift. He deals with this day by day, and he has become my inspiration and my idol. I truly cherish Paul as my son.” Shocking news When Paul came down with swollen glands and a sore throat in late 1996, it should have been just another cold. The family physician, Dr. Azzam Baker, asked for additional tests. These showed that Paul’s blood had a low white count, and further tests taken at Tomorrow’s Children Institute in Hackensack showed an even greater loss. The doctor called Iacono on Jan. 31, 1997 and said that Paul had Leukemia. “It was the most shocking news of our lives,” Iacono said. “Our whole world came crashing down. We knew this could be the worst part of our lives.” Of all the family members, Paul seemed to handle the news best, refusing to act sick, taking the disease and its treatments in stride. While he was scared at first, he has slowly become the anchor of the family, saying that the leukemia doesn’t affect him at all. When he began treatment at the Hackensack Hospital Medical center, Paul even sang for the nurses. At the time of the diagnosis, Paul had been preparing for the lead role in “Oliver!” at the Park Theater in Union City, and the only time he missed rehearsal was when admitted into the hospital for treatments. A very special boy Even before Paul was diagnosed with cancer in January 1997, family members knew he was special, a fact first noted when the boy was three and the family listened to a Frank Sinatra song on the car radio. When the song ended, Paul continued singing, belting out the song as if it was his own. By age four, Paul had already begun a musical performance career, playing Tiny Tim in the Park Theater production of AA Christmas Carol.” In the years since, Paul has rolled up performance credits that included The Rosie O’Donnell Show, a memorial dedication for Frank Sinatra in Hoboken, performances at a New York City night club, and a performance before 18,000 screaming Net Fans at the Meadowlands Arena. He has appeared in Broadway with such stars as Mickey Rooney and has performed at the Paper Mill Playhouse. He even appeared with numerous of other personalities at the unveiling of the Nets Logo, at which time he received a letter of recognition from Vice President Al Gore. He also has become one of the official radio voices for Radio Aaahs,@ for which he did commentary for the New Jersey MetroStars soccer team. He also sang with the Duprees and has appeared in various TV commericals. Son is more important Although Iacono said he was gratified about being named Man of the Year, he said the fact that his son has made a complete recovery is much more important. “The Man of the Year distinction is part of a special program,” Iacono said. “It is another tool for helping raise funds to battle this disease. There were about 20 of us in the state who were raising money for a period of time.” Iacono said his son has been fortunate the last three tests have come out with no report of cancer. “Paul has been off his medicine since July and there is no indication of disease,” Iacono said. “He has been getting a check-up ever two months. It’s in remission, nothing to indicate treatment for cancer again.”
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