ERIN – The community of Erin is rallying around a local businessman, family man and motocross fan who is in Mexico receiving an experimental treatment for stage two melanoma.
Kevin Cox, 33, is well-known in the community, says Tracey Wallace, a friend and the driving force behind a fundraiser to benefit Cox and his family on April 23.
Cox and his wife Laurie own DK Excavating in Hillsburgh.
They also have a dirt bike track in their backyard that is frequented by enthusiasts young and old.
And they have two children, Kolten, 5, and Kelsey, 2.
Kevin Cox teaches his daughter Kelsey about dirt bikes. Submitted photo
About a year ago Cox had a cold sore that wouldn’t go away. It turned out to be melanoma. He had surgery last August to remove lymph nodes from his neck and lower lip to remove the cancer cells.
Doctors then took tendons and arteries from his arm to rebuild his face, and then took a skin graft from his leg to patch up the arm.
He thought he was cancer-free, and last November the Cox family held a fundraiser in support of Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital in gratitude.
Unfortunately, Cox’s graft site now has cancer, Wallace wrote in an email.
“The doctors figure they missed some microscopic cells and unfortunately it’s an aggressive cancer,” she said.
“Kevin was on immune therapy for three months after surgery until they found the cancer.”
With a grim prognosis, Cox decided to try dendritic cell treatment, a new, experimental treatment still in the clinical trials stage.
Scientists grow dendritic cells alongside cancer cells in the lab to create a vaccine.
When administered, the vaccine then stimulates the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer cells.
The treatment is offered by the American company Immunocine and is administered in Mexico.
Cox and his family arrived safely on April 19 for the first course of the treatment. They’ll have to go back two more times for the full course.
The cost of the treatment alone is $95,000, plus travel and accommodation in Mexico.
And so the community has rallied.
There’s a GoFundMe account, at gofundme.com/f/help-kevin-fox-dk-excavating-fight-cancer, that was sitting at $85,000 on April 24.
“We had to do more than GoFundMe,” said Wallace. “So we’re stepping in to try to do that.”
Wallace, through her business AAA Events, held a fundraiser on April 23 along with Naydo’s Potatoes, Erin Auto Recyclers, the Ann Shanahan real estate team, and local band the Campfire Poets.
Erin Auto Recyclers hosted a fundraiser for Kevin Cox on April 23. Photo by Tristan Clark
Hundreds of people attended, the food truck ran out of food, and many attendees dropped off scrap metal. Rob Smith of Erin Auto Recyclers accepted donations of scrap metal and the proceeds will go to the Cox family too.
“The Coxes are one of the founding families of Erin – everybody knows them,” Wallace said.
“Kevin is 33. We just can’t let him die.”
Helping hands – Tracey Wallace was the main organizer of a fundraiser for Kevin Cox, an Erin businessman who is receiving treatment for melanoma in Mexico at a cost of $95,000. With her is Rob Smith, owner of Erin Auto Recyclers, which hosted the fundraiser on April 23. Photo by Tristan Clark
Wallace said the fundraiser brought in about $30,000.
The Cox family live-streamed in from Mexico to see and thank everyone for their support.
“I kept crying,” Wallace said. “It was just so beautiful to see everyone pulling together. A phenomenal effort.”
Music for a cause – Campfire Poets drew quite a crowd to the fundraiser for Kevin Cox on April 23. Photo by Tristan Clark
Wallace said friend and colleague Tara Rosen started the GoFundMe account.
In the explanation on the site, Rosen writes, “Kevin has always been one to help others and has a hard time asking for help, that’s why I wanted to step in and try and do something.
“I couldn’t imagine having to come up with this huge amount of money in order to try and save your life.”
“Tara is an angel for starting it – she just did it,” Wallace said.
Wallace said while people complain that Erin is losing its small-town feel with all its growth, “When something like this happens, that all takes a backseat.
“Our hearts are still here; that small town is still here.”
Anyone who wishes to donate can do so through the GoFundMe site or directly to Cox’s brother Josh at joshuacox501@gmail.com.
