'THIS HAS HELPED MY DAUGHTER BE A CHILD AGAIN' CANCER TRICKED FOR A DAY CHILDREN WITH DISEASE TREATED TO HALLOWEEN PARTY.

Byline: SUE DOYLE

Staff Writer

CHATSWORTH -- They dressed as Cinderella, Snow White and Superman, but behind the masks on Saturday stood about 300 kids battling cancer.

And they came ready to party.

Dancing to the snappy "Macarena," holding hands through a haunted house and creating works of art at a crafts table, they gathered for the eighth annual Halloween Boo-Nanza at the Spooky House 18 Haunted Theme Park in Chatsworth.

"This has helped my daughter be a child again," said Edna Cerritos, 37, of Los Angeles whose 11-year-old child with the same name recently had two surgeries to remove a malignant tumor from her brain stem.

The day was hosted by PADRES Contra El CIllegal 'X-value' for character STYLs voided here ncer. For 22 years, the nonprofit group has provided support to 7,500 families grappling with cancer from diagnosis through remission and connects them with volunteers and survivors so they don't feel alone during the journey.

"I tell them to have a lot of hope," said Alyssa Mendoza, 10, who watched her 2-year-old niece overcome a rare blood disease. "I tell them to believe in their dreams, and that they will get through this."

Dressed as a pirate, the fourth-grader has cut off her dark locks and donated clothes and stuffed animals to help other kids with cancer.

Her niece, 7-year-old Yelea Bueno, was diagnosed in 2002 with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, a rare and often fatal disease that strikes one in a million, usually young kids.

Blasted with massive chemotherapy, she was not expected to survive.

But four years in remission, Yelea was completely decked out Saturday as Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz," complete with long, braided hair, a blue-and-white dress and the legendary, sparkling ruby slippers.

The costume, however, was the girl's second pick.

Known as the family poser, Yelea wanted to dress as a supermodel. After losing her hair in treatment, she's since grown it down to her waist, the fashionable way many models wear it. But supermodel costumes at the stores were simply too large for her naturally tiny frame.

Compared to the rough times Yelea and her mother have faced, problems with Halloween costumes are good problems, she said.

"I don't think I could go through half of what she went through with a smile on her face," said her mother, Yolanda Chenier, 25, of La Puente.

Gluing red, pink and blue beads on masks at an arts-and-crafts table, children talked of the Disney Channel, lunch and their costumes.

Among them stood, Edna Cerritos, 11, sporting large green wings on her back for her fairy outfit. After surviving two surgeries to remove a malignant tumor on her brain stem two years ago, the articulate Edna has made a name for herself on the children's cancer circuit.

She's headed to the White House to represent Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and the Children's Miracle Network. And recently she met superstars Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Paris Hilton and comedian George Lopez at cancer fundraising events.

"I feel like a celebrity," said the beaming Los Angeles girl.

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) Giovanni Rubio, 11, and his niece, Michelle Rubio, 1, both of Los Angeles, don masks during the annual Halloween party held by PADRES Contra El Cancer, a nonprofit group that assists families grappling with cancer.

(2) Christopher Garcia, 6, of Los Angeles gets his face painted by Gabriel Suarez of Alhambra.

Evan Yee, Staff Photographer