KNOX TOWNSHIP — Rockin’ Out Cancer returns Saturday to assist families battling cancer.

For the 14th year the annual event will raise funds for the battle against cancer, with 100% of proceeds supporting both those affected by cancer and research, with a portion of the proceeds also donated to The Arthur G. James and Richard J. Solve Research Institute at The Ohio State University as always. This year’s event will be held from 4 to 11:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at 2017 Knox School Road.

Gates open at 4 p.m. again this year, with parking available directly across the road. Entry is $35 for pre-sale tickets or $40 at the door and includes food, drinks, and live musical entertainment. Children ages 12 and under enter free.

This year’s event will feature four bands: the Two Piece Chicken Dinner Band, the Pushing Daisies, the Mostly 90’s Band, and Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute band Vicious Cycle.

Food from Smokehouse Grill will be served from 5 to 7 p.m., and pizza from Dudley’s Pizza will also be available for purchase during the evening.

“Rockin’ Out Cancer continues to be an opportunity for our community to come together to celebrate those we have lost, those who have won and those who are fighting,” said event coordinator Tony Pasco. “We are so fortunate to have such caring and generous business owners, families and friends joining in our mission. They all do walk to the beat of a different drum, and it’s a drum that you can hear throughout Northeastern Ohio, THIS COMMUNITY ROCS!”

This year’s event will benefit Matt Baker, Cody Ellsworth, and Tejay Gorby.

Cody Ellsworth:

Ellsworth was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma on Dec. 30, 2016, when he was 23 years old and underwent chemotherapy and radiation for three years prior to a stem cell transplant in 2019 with additional radiation treatments which saw him go into remission. However, in March his cancer returned, and he has been undergoing treatment since June which his family is hopeful will see him re-enter remission.

Throughout his treatments Ellsworth has remained the sole provider for his family including his wife and their two 12- and 9-year-old children.

Matt Baker:

The 49-year-old husband of Toni Baker, and father of Maggie, 17, and Jake, 15, was diagnosed with stage three squamous cell carcinoma P16 positive in his throat and lymph nodes, and stage two grade two squamous cell carcinoma P16 negative in his vocal cords in winter after discovering a lump on his neck. In April Baker underwent surgery to remove the lump followed by another surgery in May to remove his tonsils and a portion of his tongue where doctors believed the cancer to have originated from, and chemotherapy and radiation treatments in June.

As a result of his treatments Baker will have to rely on a feeding tube and is no longer able to continue working as a mason, and while the Louisville community has shown the family immense love and support through its words and thoughtful gestures the financial, emotional, and physical weight of Matt’s diagnosis remain deeply felt and the family is in need of additional help.

Tejay Gorby:

The 40-year-old Gorby, husband of Kristy Gorby, and father of Temperance, 12, and Sawyer, 7, and devoted stepfather, was diagnosed with rectal adenocarcinoma in November 2018 at the Cleveland Clinic. He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatment from Dec. 2018 through January 2019 five days per week and had the tumor and part of his intestine surgically removed in April of 2019. While additional chemotherapy began in June of 2019 it had to be stopped early due to neurological side effects.

Tejay managed complications from surgery and treatment but remained in remission from 2020 to 2022; however, an MRI in June of 2022 revealed his cancer had returned, prompting further radiation treatments, and in 2023, chemotherapy which caused a bowel tear, abscesses and sepsis. Last August he developed urinary issues and increasing pain which went undiagnosed until an MRI this January showed that his tumor had grown and spread to his prostate, bladder, and pelvic region which was hidden by his bladder in earlier scans. After being diagnosed with stage four cancer Tejay suffered another setback when his bladder burst, requiring nephrostomy tubes in both his kidneys to divert urine, with surgeries every six to eight weeks to replace them.

Due to severe side effects Tejay has chosen to forgo further chemotherapy and is exploring holistic and alternative therapies to extend his life with the unwavering goal to see Temperance and Sawyer grow up. While nerve damage and chronic pain leave him mostly bedridden Tejay hopes to attend Sawyer and Temperance’s sports events and to maintain normalcy for them.

To purchase tickets or make a donation visit www.rockinoutcancer.org.