Crown Media A Godwink Christmas cast
Alberto Frezza stars in “A Godwink Christmas: Miracle of Love,” about a couple that undergoes their own hardships before finding each other. In real life, Frezza endured his own hardship — a cancer diagnosis — just a year before filming the new Hallmark Movies & Mysteries film.
He Underwent Four Rounds of Chemo in 2020
In August 2020, Frezza was already undergoing his second round of chemo, he shared on Instagram.
He shared the above photo in February 2021, after the cancer was behind him. He wrote, “This picture was taken by my mother during my second cycle of chemo sometime in August. I love this picture because it shows how fragile life is, but also how you can find comfort in the things that you love during those trying times.”
He said “The Godfather” book was a gift from a friend.
In a post he shared in September, he revealed how he had gone completely bald due to his chemo. And he wrote about how he reacted when faced with his own mortality.
He wrote: “Death? I’ve come to embrace it. When you’re faced with your mortality, what happens? Rebirth. Some parts of you die, others are born. Life is a gift. An unfair one. Do good while you can and create something that outlives you…”
He Had Been Cancer-Free for a Year About a Month Before He Began Filming ‘Godwink’
In September, just about a month before he began filming for “A Godwink Christmas,” he celebrated being cancer-free for one year, he wrote.
He has since started a “Roar Against Cancer” GoFundMe campaign. The campaign has already raised more than $40,000 for cancer research.
He wrote in the description:
In June of 2020 I was diagnosed with cancer. As all of you can imagine, hearing the news turned my life upside down. What affected me the most about all of it was seeing how my family and the people closest to me dealt with the situation. I was lucky enough to know Professor Filippo De Braud, the head of the National Tumor Institute of Milan who told me to go back to Milan for treatment. I did 4 cycles of chemotherapy which worked very well and I now have to wait to get my regular check ups to make sure I am still cancer free and continue to be. I was welcomed with the most innovative and hard working team I have ever come across.
He returned to Milan, Italy, for his cancer treatment and was able to become cancer-free after four rounds of chemotherapy, he wrote. However, he still has to get regular checkups. He tagged Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori in one of his Instagram photos.
He also wrote on his GoFundMe:
Spending time in the hospital definitely opens your eyes to new realities. When I walked into the hospital to begin my third cycle of chemotherapy, I saw a young boy who must’ve been around 7 years old on a hospital bed getting ready to start his treatments. We need to make sure young kids like him have a better chance of healing from Cancer so they can continue living their lives the way they should as kids. This is what inspired me to create this GoFundMe page.
Seeing a young seven-year-old undergoing chemotherapy is part of what inspired him to start the campaign, he shared.
READ NEXT: Hallmark’s Christmas 2021 Lineup of Movies