Sabres honor breast cancer survivor who now strives to help others

When Melissa Vargo, a Buffalo native and lifelong Sabres fan, dropped the puck at KeyBank Center on Saturday, it was while wearing a label she is only still getting used to: cancer survivor.

"Walking out on the ice was an adrenaline rush, it felt so surreal," Vargo told NHL.com. "The incredible level of support I felt from the Sabres and the Bruins, tapping their sticks. They were so loud. It was beyond words."
Hockey Fights Cancer night is celebrated by all 32 NHL teams each year. It has always been a way to celebrate not only survivors, but those still fighting, the medical professionals that aid in the fight and remember those lost to cancer.

For Vargo, the Sabres night was more meaningful than ever, the culmination of a year-long journey that got her from the fear of diagnosis to the triumph of remission.
"Last year I got my diagnosis on Nov. 29," Vargo said. "It was actually Hockey Fights Cancer Night (in Buffalo). My uncle (Terry Coster, long time Sabres season ticket holder) made a plaque for me. It was about two hours after I was diagnosed."

Vargo's family knew the pain all too well. Her aunt, Sharon Cedro, was originally diagnosed with brain cancer two decades ago. She was treated successfully only to see it come back three more times in the form of colon, uterine and a second bout with brain cancer. She passed away in February of 2020.
"I remember her being diagnosed the first time when I was 9 years old. I was at the church school and I remember my mom taking me out, crying. My aunt had fainted at church and that's what led to her finding out her diagnosis," Vargo said. "But she kicked that thing's butt. All those extra years we had with her (after her original diagnosis), it really was a miracle."
So, while battling cancer is never easy, finding inspiration for her own battle, this one against stage 3 breast cancer, certainly was.
"At my treatments I could hear her voice," Vargo said. "I know the entire time she was with me. Ladybugs were her thing, so to every chemotherapy treatment I wore a ladybug pin."
Vargo was in Las Vegas, where she lives, at the time of her diagnosis. She decided she would temporarily move back to Buffalo not only for Roswell Park's sterling reputation but also to have the support of her family.
"My mom has been there for me for every moment. Just a rock. Always positive, and not in an annoyingly positive way, just so genuine the entire time. We've been calling her St. Linda," Vargo said. "And I've had my days. Everyone has their days. And she would just say 'OK, are you done? The pity party is over. Let's get moving.'"
Now, she is channeling the help she received into a way to help others. Vargo has
started an Instagram page
with everything from

after their diagnosis to

they can seek out to inserting

into the process.
"It's such a dark difficult thing to go through, you have to still be able to laugh," she said.
She even

there.
"My goal is to become a cancer coach, but you have to be in remission for three years. I felt like I wanted to help people now," Vargo said. "Every day I get meaningful messages. I get messages from women about, 'Hey I have to have a double masectomy. What should I expect?' It's truly the best feeling to help other people and give them that hope."
On Saturday, she had her moment with the Sabres, a team she's so devoted to she wears her Buffalo jersey when she attends Golden Knights games with friends. She started going to games with her father, Ed, as a little girl and continued that tradition when home for holidays.
But this time she was at center ice. She wore bright pink shoes, not only the appropriate color for breast cancer awareness, but there's more to the story.
As an avid shoe shopper, she'd tried to buy that specific pair before her diagnosis but they were not available in her size. Maybe that would have induced a frown before she had her life changed forever. Months later, while she was being treated, a friend tracked them down and shipped them to her parents house.
When she walked out on the ice in those brand new shoes, the feeling she couldn't shake was gratitude. She was deemed cancer-free on Aug. 25 but is still undergoing immunotherapy treatments. And she plans to remain in the fight, standing by others, for the rest of her life.
"I think every person kind of takes life for granted at a certain point along the way. I'm sure I did," Vargo said. "Of course people do practice gratitude. And I also did (before her diagnosis). But that feeling of just being grateful for the sound of air blowing out of your nostrils each day is something else."