Fundraiser set for Dayton man

Dayton resident Jeremy Radke was scheduled for knee surgery in June when he found out he had a rare bone cancer.“It’s in all the muscle, all the tissue, all the bone,” said his wife, Jessica. “It’s in his lungs, and he has an 11-centimeter tumor in his left knee.” Doctors discovered the tumor a week before Jeremy was scheduled for knee surgery for a torn ACL.Jeremy, 32, had fallen, prompting the doctor to order an X-ray, which showed a bone spur. An MRI then showed the tumor.“He called me crying,” Jessica said. “He said, ‘It’s bad, it’s really bad. I have cancer.’” To make matters worse, Jeremy had been laid off from his job as a salesman for the past year, and had been collecting unemployment. Those benefits have since stopped.Because two of their three children have special needs, Jessica is a stay-at-home mother.“We don’t have any income right now,” Jessica said. “I filed for Social Security, but we’re waiting on that.” Jeremy must endure three weeks of chemotherapy treatments before undergoing a risky surgery, followed by three more months of chemotherapy.Jessica said the surgery will be performed at University of California, San Francisco, to remove the bottom half of his left lung, as well as a golfball-size area in his back where the biopsy was performed because the needle used for that procedure contaminated the surrounding tissue and skin with cancer cells. There is also the possibility he will lose his left leg, where the tumor is.“He’s done OK. He was pretty sick for a bit. He doesn’t stay awake for more than two hours,” Jessica said. “I’m pretty busy taking care of the kids. I’ve had two days where I melted down. We are best friends. We do everything together.” Swallowing her pride, Jessica created a wish list on mygiftlist.com of items Jeremy and the family could use.Items include gas cards, grocery cards, chemo-care gift baskets, movies and travel games.“We could really use money cards so we can pay our bills,” Jessica said. “It’s humiliating having people know our business, but I’m desperate. I don’t know what else to do.” There is also a donation account at Wells Fargo, account No. 3651111381.“I’m so thankful for any help. I’m really humbled,” she said. “All I can say is I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to pay this forward.”A benefit for Jeremy is scheduled for 6-11 p.m. Saturday at Jimmy G’s Cigar Bar.“I cannot tell you how supportive the community, our friends and coworkers have been,” said his mother, Kelly Ibarra. “Many local businesses have been so gracious with donations for raffle and silent auction items.”The fundraiser will include a raffle and silent auction, as well as local music by Marz Band. Proceeds from food and beer also will benefit the family.If you goWHAT: Jeremy Radke BenefitWHEN: 6-11 p.m. SaturdayWHERE: Jimmy G’s Cigar Bar, 301 N. Carson St.You can help• A donation account is at Wells Fargo Bank account No. 3651111381• To track Jeremy’s progress, visit his caring bridge page at www.caringbridge.org/visit/jeremyradke/journal/1• To donate items from Jessica’s wish list, visit www.mygiftlist.com/giver_main.asp?code=GUEST&buid=123067