<div>Hello everyone and thank you for visiting Ben's page!
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<div>Unfortunately, nobody likes to hear news like this. Until now, only close friends and family have been made aware, but our family/ friend Ben was diagnosed with stage 2 malignant melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer.
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<div>Ben originally went to the dermatologist for a changing skin lesion on his arm which was removed by his primary dermatologist on 8/29/25. Unfortunately, the pathology results proved Ben's lesion to be cancerous: malignant melanoma.
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<div>He was immediately referred to Karmanos for further investigation, staging and boarded for further surgical resection to ensure "clean margins," meaning to make sure the cancer was completely removed.
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<div>On 9/24/25, the surgeon at Karmanos successfully completed a deep tissue resection/ lymph node removal where he resected the rest of the visible cancerous tissue and tagged lymph nodes in the adjacent arm. After surgery, it was noted that he did not think it had spread to any lymph nodes per his findings in the OR, but must await final pathology of tissue/ lymph nodes to confirm.
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<div>Ben has his upcoming appointment on 10/2/2025 with the surgeon at Karmanos to get the results of the pathology and see what further steps are necessary for his treatment.
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<div>After some reflection and conversation with family, he decided it's better not to fight this alone and wanted a way for his family and friends to stay updated throughout the process of his diagnosis, recent/ possibly upcoming surgeries, and treatments for his cancer.
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<div>As we all know, Ben is an extremely selfless individual. He's very prideful, hard-working and never asks anyone for anything, which is why doing something like creating a GoFundMe took him some time and deep contemplation to ultimately come to his conclusion. He's always willing to help family and friends, no questions asked. This time, Ben has agreed to allow me to request some support on his behalf.
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<div>Due to Ben's surgery, he will have to miss a good amount of work these upcoming weeks while he's healing. He has lifting restrictions that will last for weeks and can't do physical activity while he's healing.
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<div>Ben has multiple occupations including his main job as a welder/ metal fabricator, founded his own recycling company which is one of his life-long passions, referees roller hockey games weekly, and works at a local hockey equipment store.
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<div>My personal goal for this GoFundMe is to keep everyone informed in real time regarding Benny's ongoing story related to his cancer surgery and potential upcoming treatments. Ben agreed for me to fundraise on his behalf to allow friends and family the opportunity to graciously make donations for upcoming life/ medical expenses as he will be physically unable to work for a while.
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<div>To be fully transparent, donated funds will only be used for medical/ treatment related bills and general living expenses/ mortgage payments while he's unable to work his multiple jobs for the foreseeable future.
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<div>Thank you for visiting Ben's page! Please share with anyone who knows Ben so they can also follow along in his journey. I have made it my personal goal to keep everyone up to date in real time on Ben's progress.
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<div>We love you Benny, and you're not fighting this alone! ❤️
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<div>-Steven
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<div>Note: fundraising goals may be updated as Ben's story progresses.
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Anonymous

Kristian Alafriz

Cristen Sunga

Katie Lorraine

carly gomez

Heidi Tatum

Renee Mears

Manzur Moidunny

Barbara Nowak

Matt Barranca

Frank and Georgina Erace

Rosie Damitio

Lisa Kloka

Osama Nunu

Nina Tringali

Cameron Stump

Support Ben's Battle against Malignant Melanoma

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