LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — On a hot Sunday afternoon, a large crowd of patrons cooled down by drinking beer and listening to music at the Backstretch Bar & Grill, as they partied for a good cause.
One of the people in the crowd was Kenneth Sowers, who was the face of the party. The event was organized to raise money for Sowers, who was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma, a rare form of cancer that attacks the bile ducts.
His wife, Tammy, was one of the organizers of the event Sunday. The fundraiser, called "Mend Ken," included a silent auction, a cornhole tournament, and plenty of food and drinks.
"It's great to see love in the community," Tammy Sowers said.
One of their friends, Philip Dunn, wanted to share the love that he received when his son was waging a fight against brain cancer.
"Whatever they want to do, you support it," he said. "100 percent."
His son, Austin, passed away in March, four years after he was diagnosed with cancer.
"We didn't lose hope until he said there was no hope," Dunn said. "And we let him decide what to do. It was his choice."
The Sowers are holding onto hope, buoyed by the fact that chemotherapy has helped shrink Kenneth's tumor and by the prospect of further treatment in Nashville.
The Sowers will head to Nashville this week for a consultation at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. The money raised at Sunday's event will go toward medical, travel, and other expenses they incur.
