Karolina Atsalis vividly recalls the timeline of events. On Tuesday, December 7, 2021, she found herself on the receiving end of a miserable migraine, or what she thought was a migraine. After a visit to the Emergency Department at New York University Langone Health, a 7-centimeter mass in the frontal lobe of her brain was discovered. On December 10, she underwent a near-total resection of the tumor at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Stephen E. and Catherine Pappas Center for Neuro-Oncology by Bob Carter, MD, PhD, chair of neurosurgery at Mass General Brigham. And on December 20, she received a brain cancer diagnosis and a treatment regimen for chemotherapy and radiation. She was only 27 years old.
When Karolina was diagnosed, her friends Liz Harkawik, Ashley Lasota and Ali Meyers agreed immediately that they wanted to do something to support Karolina and her care team. Inspired by Karolina’s strength and resilience, they established The Smiley Fund to raise funds for the Pappas Center, where Karolina was receiving her cancer treatment.
Strong Connections
Karolina was living in New York City at the time of her diagnosis. But, because she grew up on Cape Cod, with most of her family living in the Greater Boston area, she knew, upon diagnosis, she would only entrust her care to Mass General, specifically the Pappas Center. “Since the Pappases are also a Greek family like mine, it made it feel like it was meant to be,” she says.
Karolina’s care team included specialists from across the hospital — the brain tumor support group embedded in the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Program, which she still joins regularly, the psychologist who helped treat her insomnia while undergoing treatment, the staff at the Mass General Fertility Center, who conducted her oocyte cryopreservation (egg banking) procedure, and the nutritionists who guided her food plan.
For Karolina, however, the community of women — from her friends who started the Smiley Fund in her honor, to the female nurses, doctors and residents she is still in touch with today, including neuro-oncologist Isabel Arrillaga-Romany, MD, PhD — supporting her has been the most impactful part of her cancer journey.
“So many members of my care team were these amazing, powerful women who had accomplished and gone through so much,” Karolina says. “It was so incredible to be surrounded by such an empowering group at such a stressful time.”
“Karolina’s strength and positivity through all of this is beyond inspiring,” says Ashley. “Supporting Karolina through her journey has taught me to be comfortable with the uncomfortable, and how to truly be there for others going through similar experiences.”
The Smiley Gang
“When we started making plans to fundraise for brain cancer research, calling our nonprofit ‘The Smiley Fund’ was a no brainer,” says Liz. “Karolina and I have matching smiley face tattoos on our ankles, and we had started calling our group of friends in New York ‘the smiley gang,’ so it just made perfect sense.”
“I honestly don’t even remember having a conversation about it,” says Ali. “We just instantly knew we wanted to do something to help and got right to work.”
The friends wanted their first Smiley Fund event in New York City to be an opportunity for others to rally around Karolina in support of the lifesaving care she was receiving, so they hosted an event at their favorite bar, raising more than $19,000 for the Pappas Center.
Since the success of the first event, Liz, Ashley and Ali have also hosted a comedy night with the help of the Atsalis family, and designed clothing featuring their Smiley Fund logo — the exact smiley face illustration Liz and Karolina have tattooed. The Smiley Fund has donated $50,000 in support of the Pappas Center and the research of executive director Scott Plotkin, MD, PhD in tumor suppressor syndromes, and plan to continue their giving to research and patient care services at Mass General.
“Brain tumor research is years behind many other cancers, but advancements are being made every day,” says Karolina. “Donations and support of the Smiley Fund help fuel this life-changing research at Mass General, and will, hopefully, one day contribute to finding a cure.”
To learn more about the Smiley Fund, click here.
To learn more about how you can support the Stephen E. and Catherine Pappas Center for Neuro-Oncology, contact us.
