Cancer patient wins pizza for a year, donates it to food bank

Christmas is about giving, so here’s a slice of generosity that’s worth its weight in dough.

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A Pennsylvania cancer patient who won a contest for a year’s worth of free pizza decided to donate his prize to a local food bank. Josh Katrick had just finished his eighth round of chemotherapy to treat his colon cancer when he found out he won the contest sponsored by Mario’s Pizza in Northampton, located an hour north of Philadelphia.

Katrick, 36, had been enjoying pizza at Mario’s since he was a child, and he was one of 1,200 contestants vying for the prize. When he won, he decided to spread the wealth.

"You know the saying, 'When life gives you lemons make lemonade,' well, when life gives you pizza, give away a slice," Katrick told CNN on Sunday.

Katrick donated the prize — two large plain cheese pizzas and one two-liter soda per calendar month — to the Northampton Area Food Bank.

Katrick decided to donate his prize because he was inspired by the generosity shown him during his cancer treatment. Katrick had surgery in August for stage 2 colon cancer and began receiving chemotherapy in August.

"After everything I went through these last few months — I met so many people and have been receiving so much — I felt I wanted to give back." Katrick told CNN. “The food bank is very thankful. They're amazed by it. They will put it to good use.”

The owners of Mario’s, touched by Katrick’s generosity, doubled the prize to ensure that Katrick also would get a monthly allotment of pizza.

"I thought someone would win, they'd be excited, come in and get their pizzas, but a story like this to come out of a contest like that ..." Giuseppe Aiello, the son of the family-run pizzeria's co-owner, told WFMZ. "It's better to give than receive, and especially during this time of year — Christmas."

Katrick, however, is still reluctant to gorge on the pizza alone.

“Maybe I'll share with my friends on Facebook (and) make a contest of my own to see if anyone would like some pizza,” he told CNN.

Cox Media Group