Meet Our Donors

Terry Bourgeois and Maria Coccia-Bourgeois

For Maria Coccia Bourgeois and Terry Bourgeois, there are so many reasons to give back to Roswell Park. Maria originally got involved to honor her parents who passed away from cancer. She would hop on her bike for Empire State Ride and Ride for Roswell and fundraise as much as she could.

Later in life, Maria’s support found new meaning when she was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma, a rare, aggressive cancer in the smooth muscle cells. Her treatment included surgery to remove a mass, the removal of her left kidney and the maximum lifetime allowable dosage of chemotherapy — 430 hours total.

“Honestly, with everything that I've been through, I am blessed to be alive because of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and everybody who took amazing care of me,” Maria said. “Now, I just want to give back.”

If you ask Terry, his why is Maria —the quiet hope that we’ll find less toxic treatments and advance fields like immunotherapy. If Maria’s cancer returns, immunotherapy is her best hope.

But the couple’s support goes beyond that. Through their involvement with Roswell, they’ve seen big, game-changing breakthroughs happening because of donor dollars. Their hope is to keep those breakthroughs happening to help people like Maria who need options. That’s their biggest motivation for joining the Dr. Roswell Park Legacy Society.

“I think about our legacy a lot, and the big thought that comes to my mind is that when I get to the end of my road, I want to know that I gave it my all. I think about just smiling and saying I did it, and we left something behind, and it's going to make a difference,” Terry said.