Meet a Health Hero: Cheryl Colleluori of HEADstrong Foundation

Some say maternal instinct is a mother’s “sixth sense” for her child. For Swedesboro resident Cheryl Colleluori, red alarms were blaring when she heard her son Nick breathing like a whistle.

It happened during his freshman year at Hofstra University, when Nick called home to check in. He had, he said, what he thought was just a stuffy nose. But why would it cause a whistling noise, Colleluori wondered? “I thought, you know what, I don’t like the sound of it … I begged him to come home, and we went to an allergist, and we did some testing,” Colleluori says.

They didn’t find any allergies, but a subsequent CAT scan of the sinuses revealed an enlarged adenoid in Nick’s nasal passage. Everyone agreed to have it removed, but no one expected the pathology result: large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of blood cancer affecting the lymphatic system.

Delivering the diagnosis, the doctor made it clear: Nick’s cancer was aggressive, and they’d need to start fighting it immediately. What followed was an intense, 14-month-long chemotherapy and radiation routine, plus stem-cell transplants.

In order to accommodate the entire regimen, Nick’s mother took a leave of absence from her job in senior leadership for business interiors at Staples. She had to — someone needed to bring her son to his appointments, therapies, and care for him in between each visit.

Her time off went unpaid, making an already emotionally taxing time a financially questionable one as well.

“The debt from cancer is overwhelming for most people who are in the thick of things,” says Colleluori.

Indeed, cancer’s financial fallout can last years beyond the final treatment. Some diagnoses saddle families with more than $6,000 in out-of-pocket costs during the first year alone, and studies show that patients and their loved ones are more likely to face economic hardship because of their care.

Nick saw what his family was dealing with and wanted to help others in similar situations. “He really recognized the lack of available resources for patients and their families,” Colleluori says, “and he decided to do something about it.”

Cheryl and Nick Colleluori

That something? HEADstrong Foundation, a nonprofit Nick created in 2005 from his hospital bed, with the sole mission to support patients going through the worst of it. He canvassed patients and their families, learning from them the strain of cancer beyond the illness itself. Many were traveling across state lines to get to the facilities that had the therapies they needed. Even when Nick and his family were relocated to Washington, D.C. (so that they could go to the National Institutes of Health for treatment in an attempt to save Nick), he was determined to find cost-effective solutions to support families through it all.

Nick battled his cancer for 14 months, remaining strong-willed and determined, but ultimately succumbed to the disease in 2006. Before he died, he asked his mom to spearhead his foundation, and she gratefully took the reins. She understood its importance to him, and she says it has kept him close all these years later.

Today, HEADstrong offers financial, residential, and emotional support to families affected by cancer. Its major initiative is Nick’s House, which sets families up with two fully-furnished homes in Philadelphia and Boston, where they can live while receiving top-tier treatment for their cancers. The homes are open to patients traveling more than 50 miles to Philly and more than 25 miles to Boston to undergo treatment. Since its inception in 2005, Nick’s House has provided over 25,000 stays at no cost to families. (That’s almost 40,000 patients supported in just over 20 years!) The foundation plans to soon open a third home, in Durham, North Carolina, to support patients traveling to Duke Cancer Institute and University of North Carolina Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“We give opportunities to families to seek the best available care for their cancer without the cost,” Colleluori says. “It’s rough to leave your support system behind, your job beyond … [families] get to our doorstep, and as soon as they walk in, you can see the anxiety almost wash away.”

With $39 million raised in funding since HEADstrong began, Colleluori’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Last year, she was selected as a finalist in the Be Well Philly Health Hero Challenge, which recognizes and honors those in our region who are committed to making a difference in people’s health and wellness.

Nominations are open for the 2026 awards. Submit someone today!

The real wealth of HEADstrong comes from the connections being made, says Colleluori, who knows what it’s like to be the family looking for answers during a time of upheaval and uncertainty: “I know the anxiety of a mother; I know what it’s like to not be able to fix it — when my job as mom to kiss it and make it better. I closely relate to these folks … We have gotten so close to so many families. You know that they turned over every rock for treatment and they can lay their head down at the end of the night [at Nick’s House].”

Looking ahead, Colleluori says she hopes the foundation will have five houses strategically located by nationally designated cancer institutions.

“I’m so proud of the work that we’ve done and the commitment that we have to the cancer community, and all that is possible through Nick and his idea,” she says. Through her work and the work of her 18-person team, people’s lives are being saved — and Nick’s legacy shines on.

Cheryl Colleluori was one of the finalists in the 2025 Be Well Philly Health Hero Challenge presented by Independence Blue Cross. The award recognizes the nonprofit leaders, medical professionals, frontline health workers, nonprofit leaders, teachers, coaches, entrepreneurs, and community activists who are making a positive impact on health and wellness through caregiving in our community.

Each year, the public nominates the Health Heroes who inspire them the most and vote to select a winner who receives a $15,000 donation to the charity of their choice. Two runners-up each receive a $2,500 donation to the charity of their choice. You can nominate (or nominate yourself!) a 2026 Health Hero here.