Support Eric Wright's Fight Against Cancer

We are raising funds for Eric Wright and his family. Eric is our brother-in-law. He married our sister Michelle nearly 25 years ago. They met in Nashville while working in the Christian music business.

They married, started a family, moved away to New York, and then back to Nashville for another stint in the music industry, and then eventually to California to work for a foundation focused on the creative arts and veterans ministry.

They very recently felt called back to Nashville, and Michelle was offered a position by her alma mater that combined her music experience and higher education background - the perfect fit.

Just before the New Year, they moved across the country from California to Nashville, excited to rekindle relationships, pursue a new music/career opportunity, and purchase a new home. The plan was also for Eric to find just the right role to leverage his considerable relationship-building and hospitality skills.

A little more than a month after they made the move, Eric began to experience severe abdominal pain that landed him in the emergency room and then the hospital. The diagnosis was pancreatitis combined with a gallstone that was obstructing the common bile duct.

Ultimately, he had an ERCP procedure to remove the gallstone and install a stent. During that procedure, the surgeon noticed a lesion on the pancreas and performed a biopsy. The medical staff was confident it wasn’t of significant concern.

Unfortunately, and somewhat surprisingly, the biopsy led to a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, and an oncology appointment was set for a week later.

But before that date, Eric experienced a flare-up of severe abdominal pain and was readmitted to the hospital for an infected gallbladder. The doctors then determined the best course of action was to remove the gallbladder.

During this procedure, the surgeon noticed a shadow on the liver and ordered a biopsy. Again, the staff indicated it was likely nothing to worry about, and again the news turned out to be that it was, in fact, cancer.

Stunned and surprised, they met with an oncologist on March 6 where they heard more unexpected news: it was Stage IV cancer.

In the span of two weeks, they experienced the excitement of new opportunities in Nashville only to receive unimaginable medical news in multiple back-to-back appointments.

They are shocked and surprised but remain undeterred and need help as they respond to the diagnosis. Complications include the obvious pause on any job pursuit for Eric, a setback given a new home purchase, etc., and a need to explore a second opinion and pursue medical trials at Houston’s MD Anderson Hospital.

Medical and other expenses continue to mount, causing pressure and distracting from their sole focus, Eric’s health.

Our ask is for your help in easing that burden to help Eric and Michelle and their family, two sons in college (one recently married) and a 13-year-old daughter. Our original intent was to not include a goal but that wasn’t possible within the app. We have reset the goal given the amazing response and learning that some treatments are very expensive and not covered by their insurance.

Bryan and Lucretia Fink

Jeff and Jeanette Fink