Mom and Pasco Native Thankful for Moffitt ‘in My Backyard’
Tiffany Pisarcik, 36, was born and raised in Pasco County, Florida, a place where faces are familiar and community runs deep. When cancer entered her life, she was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support that followed. Family, friends and the community reached out in ways both big and small, reminding her just how surrounded she truly was.
With her fiance, Billy, and her two young children, William, 11, and Olivia, 7, by her side, she found strength in the love that showed up around her. In a journey marked by uncertainty, the support of her community became a powerful source of comfort, resilience and hope.
This is her story.
It Started With a Cough
In November 2022, I was 34 and felt healthier than ever. Between sports practices, games and school activities, my days were full keeping up with William and Olivia.
When I started feeling crummy, I assumed it was just a cold. Antibiotics and steroids were prescribed, but nothing helped. Over the following months, I continued to struggle through worsening complications, countless doctor’s appointments and repeated emergency room visits. No medication brought relief, and answers remained out of reach.
After eight years working at Chili’s, I remember reaching a point where I had to step away from the bar because of constant coughing spells. The cough wouldn’t go away, no matter what I tried. When I finally underwent a bronchoscopy, a procedure to look inside the airways and lungs, on Good Friday in April 2023, I felt a sense of relief. I believed it would be the turning point — the moment I would finally start feeling like myself again.
Instead, I received news I never expected. I had lung cancer. It took evaluations from three different pulmonary doctors before they were able to determine what was truly happening, turning months of uncertainty into a diagnosis that changed my life in an instant.
I was speechless.
I was young. I had never smoked. I have no family history and no clear reason why.
I Wanted To Beat This
Michael Shafique, MD
I was referred to Moffitt Cancer Center, where I came under the care of Michael Shafique, MD. He confirmed I had stage 3B lung cancer and outlined a carefully coordinated treatment plan that included chemotherapy, immunotherapy, surgery and radiation — an approach that immediately gave me hope.
I was excited for any new possibility because I wanted to beat this, if not for me, for my children. Throughout it all, William and Olivia became my guiding light, giving me strength and purpose during the hardest moments of my journey.
I had three rounds of chemotherapy with Keytruda, an immunotherapy drug that helps the immune system slow or stop the spread of cancer cells. I tolerated treatment better than expected.
Just two days after my first chemotherapy treatment in May 2023, I celebrated Olivia’s 5th birthday. Exhausted and still adjusting to the effects of treatment, I pushed through the fatigue. I was going to have a birthday celebration no matter what.
Jacques Fontaine, MD
Next came surgery in August 2023. Two days after Moffitt McKinley Hospital opened in Tampa, Jacques Fontaine, MD, was in the operating room. He removed my entire left lung and five lymph nodes filled with cancer. The surgery went well, but the recovery was tough.
After surgery, I mustered the strength to walk William and Olivia to class for the first day of school. There’s a lot I didn’t want to miss out on. When you’re a mom, you don’t want to miss those moments.
Thomas Dilling, MD
After recovering from surgery and to ensure no cancer cells were left, I then faced six weeks of radiation with Thomas Dilling, MD, at the Moffitt Magnolia Campus. Every day, I would drive an hour each way for five minutes of radiation.
When I finished my 30 radiation treatments, it was especially bittersweet.
I didn’t get to ring the bell after chemotherapy because the team wasn’t sure whether I would need three or four rounds. After radiation, I got to ring the bell. After everything I had been through, my family and friends were finally there to see me do it.
I then finished what ended up being a year of immunotherapy.
Keeping the Right Focus
Throughout my cancer journey, I always kept pushing forward. Being mom to William and Olivia left little time to dwell on the hardships, but I admit it’s been a long road. I remember my surgeon telling me that the only way I would get through this was by staying positive. He encouraged me to find something, anything, that brought me happiness.
Baking sourdough to share helps Tiffany Pisarcik spread joy to others.
That’s when baking became more food for my soul.
I’ve loved baking since I was little, a passion passed down from my mother and grandmother.
During my cancer journey, I turned to baking sourdough as a source of comfort and purpose. I started from scratch, without a proofing box, in a cold house, learning through trial and error. I named my starter Susie Starter, a nod to my grandfather who used to call me Susie. Today, it produces delicious homemade goodies including sourdough bread, scones, cinnamon rolls and bagels that I can’t wait to share with my family, friends, neighbors and hospital staff, spreading joy the way baking always has in my life.
I love making sourdough because it’s so therapeutic. It brings me a positive state of mind when I feel good enough to do it. Those who get to benefit from my sourdough bring me such happiness because everyone gives me positive feedback.
Today, I’m grateful to be two years free of lung cancer. Yet I continue to navigate the lingering effects from long-term steroids, including fatigue, joint pain and weight gain. I take blood thinners after a clot was discovered in my lung. I’m still learning to live with only one lung and a compromised immune system.
I have an appointment at Moffitt this week to meet with Dr. Shafique and review my latest scan. As a Pasco native, I’m proud to be one of the first patients to be seen at the new Moffitt Speros Outpatient Center, and I couldn’t be happier. Traffic can be more stressful than the appointments, and the Speros location will cut my commute in half.
From day one, I was so comfortable with Dr. Shafique and the entire team at Moffitt. Now that I’m focused on healing and finding my new normal, I’m so thankful that my Moffitt team is right in my backyard whenever I need them.
