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Local man proposes to girlfriend after finishing last chemo treatment

PITTSBURGH — One of the greatest moments that happen at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center is when a survivor gets to ring the bell to celebrate their final chemotherapy treatment.

Mike Masciarelli celebrated his last treatment and a two-month battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma this week in a very unique way. He rang the bell and claimed victory over cancer, but what he did next was just as special.

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Masciarelli, 31, had planned a beach proposal to his girlfriend, but because of the pandemic and his treatments, the romantic setting was just not an option. So, with help from his nurse, Masciarelli popped the question surrounded by those who helped him beat cancer.

“It’s been very emotional. With the last day of chemo, it’s been rough but we were looking down the road,” he said. “And the special moment when I asked her to be my wife, it just means a lot. I was so excited to ring that bell just knowing right after, that that was what I was going to do.

“And that just kept pushing me forward and forward. That’s what made me actually get through it all.”

Masciarelli’s fiancee, Lindsay Gallentine, said she was completely blindsided by the proposal in the best way.

“He couldn’t have picked a better moment,” she said. “He did a fantastic job of planning and completely knocked my socks off.”