Rob Eck's Cancer Benefit

Name: Rob Eck's Cancer Benefit
Start: 2025-05-17T14:00:00-05:00
Location: Cameron Splash Pad

Schedule

Sat, 17 May, 2025 at 02:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Cameron Splash Pad | Cameron, WI

A fundraiser benefit is being planned(in 2 separate parts)to help Rob Eck alleviate some of the financial stress, while he navigates a very scary diagnosis full of uncertainty. 100% of the funds raised will be used to help ease some of the financial burden. He's quickly accumulating immense medical bills, on top of rent, gas to get to appointments & healthier groceries, just to name a few. Here's a bit of his/our journey to his diagnosis.
In late January, early February, my dad started experiencing unusual symptoms. Some of his symptoms included but weren't limited to, excessive fatigue, decreased energy, extreme chest pain, difficuty breathing, stiffness/soreness, & a consistent cough that just wouldn't go away and getting progressively worse. Being the STUBBORN man we all know, he insisted he was fine, despite close friends arguing he was not fine, and should maybe go to the doctor. He was convinced it could be a collapsed lung(he's had one before), and said if it got bad enough he would go in. The symptoms became more frequent and worsened as time passed by. Finally, on February 13, the symptoms were severe enough that my Dad went to the ER. He was experiencing significant chest pain & having a hard time breathing. Multiple labs, x rays & CT scans later, he was told there was a mass, a little over 4 cm in size, on his right lung. The ER doctor was fairly certain he knew what it was but referred my dad to other specialty doctors for more extensive testing. Since that day it’s been a long journey with multiple appointments, more testing, scans, new specialists, more lab work etc, yet still leaving us without a lot of answers. However, his whole team consistently agreed they were very confident that it was cancer. A PET scan and follow up CT confirmed that the mass was in fact cancer, so now we knew, but were unsure what kind or how advanced it was. Some much needed good news came this day too. The cancer HAD NOT spread beyond the right lung and the lymph nodes in question! Such a relief! On March 6, he had a surgical bronchoscopy, preformed by a pulmonologist(lung doctor), to obtain samples of the tumor in the right lung and 3 surrounding lymph nodes(1 in the right lung closest to the tumor, 1 in the left lung & 1 in the upper middle abdomen/lower middle chest for general reference)that were also possibly affected. More waiting and uncertainty, which was difficult on everyone. On March 11, we finally got results. He was diagnosed with stage 3A Non-small Cell Carcinoma in the right lung & 4R lymph node, which is the lymph node in the right lung closest to the tumor. His pulmonologist told us that operating is not ideal, due to possible things like blood vessels and supply etc, and they're the specialists so they know better than we do. He's now been referred to oncology after the confirmed diagnosis. So what's next? My dad immediately quit smoking, cold turkey, after his ER visit and that's something to be celebrated! He also completely changed his diet and eating habits immediately following that first visit. His doctors are recommending chemotherapy, to begin very soon but we are unsure of exact details on that yet. He has a lot more upcoming appointments to get the recommended treatment started sooner rather than later. Being self-employed with no insurance, and out of work for an unspecified amount of time for the foreseeable future, you can imagine the unhealthy stress this would cause on anyone. Please consider donating to help relieve some of that stress on my dad. No amount is too small, as every little bit helps. If you are unable to donate financially, please consider sharing this fundraiser so we can reach more people that may be able to help! The phrase "It takes a village" has a whole new meaning to us now, and we would appreciate all the help our village can give us. Anybody who knows my dad well, knows he's not only impossibly stubborn, but also very proud and almost never asks for help. Jenni and I had to "fight" with him to even get him to agree to this fundraiser, still under much protest. All the prayers & positive vibes during my dad's healing journey are so welcomed and much appreciated too! Thank you in advance for considering being a part of my dad's village. If there are questions as to other ways to potentially help, please reach out to Jenni Banger. You can contact her by phone at (715) 939-9108, by email at [email protected] or on Facebook Jenni Banger.
We will be serving food(menu tbd & will update when known), for a free will offering. We will have baskets & other donations to raffle! We'll have a few items available for silent auction. T-shirts will be available for purchase. A benefit ride/drive planning is in the works! Plenty of options for ways to help/donate are available and will be listed below. We appreciate all of you and hope to see you there!
Ways to donate:
1)GoFundMe
2)Check or money order payable to Jenni Banger OR Julia Eck and mailed to 85 E Birch Ave Barron, WI 54812
3)Come hang out with us at the benefit and/or participate in the benefit run.
We are incredibly humbled and so very thankful for ALL of your generosity! Whether it's sharing, prayers, donations or your time, it doesn't go unnoticed and we are grateful for you all!