Erin, Ont. community raises funds for local man’s experimental cancer treatment

The town of Erin, Ont is rallying around one of their own.

Friends and family gathered in the town on Sunday to raise money for local business owner Kevin Cox, who has flown to Mexico for an experimental treatment for stage 2 melanoma.

"As soon as Kevin got sick, everybody went ‘okay let's bring the heart back,’" said family friend Tracey Wallace. "So we said ‘okay let's do a little silent auction’, you know ten, fifteen things, no big deal, and that exploded."

Everything from cars to cash were brought to Erin Auto Recyclers to help raise money for Cox’s treatment.

A car being donated towards the silent auction to raise funds for an Erin resident's treatment. (Hannah Schmidt) (April 23, 2023)

It was about a year ago when Cox developed a cold sore that wouldn’t go away and changed his life.

"[I] did antibiotics, it didn't do anything,” said Cox. “Followed it up [and] ended up seeing a plastic surgeon in June of last year and had a biopsy taken and found out that it was melanoma."

Cox had surgery last August to remove lymph nodes from his neck and lower lip to remove the cancer cells.

Doctors took tendons and arteries from his arm to rebuild his face and then took a skin graft from his leg to patch his arm.

Kevin Cox released from hospital after surgery on Sept. 1, 2022. (Facebook: Kevin Cox)

Cox thought he was cancer free, but recently received news his graft site now has cancer.

"The doctors came back and said the Keytruda in my immune system doesn't recognize the cancer as being bad," said Cox.

That’s when he decided to try dendritic cell treatment.

"You know, we need to get to the root of the problem," said Cox. "If they miss another microscopic cell or something like that, then six months down the road I could be in the same boat all over again and I've only got one more arm they can take parts from."

The cost of the treatment is $95,000.

His wife and two young children are with him in Mexico as he’s set to begin treatment this week.

Meanwhile, back at home, friends and family are hoping to raise money to cover the procedure, plus travel and accommodations to see Cox return home.

“He’s looking into the future for what he wants to do when he gets back from Mexico and he just wants to move on and carry on which is part of it,” said Cox's father Ron. “You really have to have a good mental attitude.”

"It’s absolutely crazy, you know," said Cox. "People sending money from all over the world and a lot of these people I’ve never met before."