Kevin Kavanaugh's Cancer Fight

Kevin Kavanaugh
My name is Colleen Kahley and Kevin Kavanugh is my big brother. He is the second oldest of the five kids in our family and we are blessed to have both of our parents with us. Kevin is 56, and is a  journeyman electrician. He is a father of four and has been a single parent since the late summer of 2008 when his wife walked out on them. He has been nothing but dedicated to those kids ever since. His family is everything.

Here is the start of his story:
Early April 2017, Kevin fell at work and thought he hurt his right hip. Since he is one to not miss work he tried to finish out the rest of the week. He ended up leaving early on Friday and due to pain, and decided to go to the workman's comp doctor the following Monday, to see what was going on. He never misses work. The doctor performed test after test and couldn't find anything wrong, but Kevin was still in excruciating pain. Finally, the doctor said he would do an MRI.  The doctor asked him to come in to dicuss the results and on April 19th. Kevin was told he had metastaic cancer on his right and left femur, right hip, and tailbone. They weren't sure what type, so he needed to see and oncologist. He was also told he would not be able to work. It was too dangerous. 
Once at the oncologist, Kevin needed to get more tests and a biopsy done. They had to find the primary site. In May, right before Mother's Day Kevin was diagnosed with Stage IV Nodular Melanoma. The scans showed it had matestisized to his right and left femurs, right hip, tailbone, two parts of his liver, left lung, and both adrenal glands. The primary site has never been determined. The oncologist had him do ten radiation treatments on his hip and now he is just beginning his antibody therapy through a port.  Kevin has been given a 50% chance to survive one year.

Help His Fight
The shock and horror of such news has devistated our whole family. There are no words. To overcome the helplessness we feel, we are organizing a benefit for Kevin as well as this campaign. It will be one way we can help. Kevin has been unable to work since April, but life still goes on. As medical bills come in, there seems to be an urgency to get things done. It's almost as if he is trying to get things in order in case the worst possible outcome happens. Although Kevin is trying to stay hopeful, he does not want to leave his family with a mountain of debt. To this very day he is only concerned about his children. Once again, his family is everything.
The benefit we are organizing for Kevin is to raise money for medical bills and ongoing expenses for his family. We are hoping Kevin will be able to make an appearance, however he is very weak.

Kevin Kavanaugh Benefit
Rookies Bar and Grill
(2818 Brady Street, Davenport, IA 52803)
Sunday, July 9th 
12:00-5:00