Local family fighting rare battle with cancer

It’s a unique and heartbreaking circumstance, the battle a family living in McHenry is fighting with a deadly disease. Out of the four siblings in the Towe family, three were diagnosed with cancer. One of them has just recently passed away.
News 25’s Gina Tomlinson has this story.
“When he was dying, he said, ‘Y’all never blame yourself for my death.’ He said, ‘I know y’all did everything you could.’ And we did.”
The chair 24-year-old Darell Towe used to sit in hasn’t left the family dinner table, but his passing sure has left holes in the Towe family’s hearts and concerns now linger over two other siblings who have also been diagnosed with lymphoma leukemia. “One sibling passed away. So with me having that disease the fear of dying is constantly running through my mind.”
Doctors discovered 16-year-old Savannah had leukemia two years ago. Her younger brother Anthony was the first to be diagnosed, losing his leg at three-years-old, making 21-year-old Jessica Towe the only sibling in the family who has not been diagnosed with the disease. “Having such a disease, it makes you feel different then everyone else, like you’re not in the circle anymore.”
The Towe family lives just north of the Harrison County line in McHenry, but now the Towe family faces an additional challenge. With all the medical and transportation costs that come with fighting the disease, Kathy Towe says the family is about to lose their home. “Doctors and cancer and hospital is basically our entire life. That’s all we’ve known so it’s just normal.”
What’s also out of the ordinary: “Sixteen other people within a five mile radius of us are fighting some type of cancer.”
The family says they think it is something in the air that they breathe as to why cancer is so common within the area, but getting the money together needed to conduct an environmental study falls lower on their agenda when their home is at stake. “Financially, we’re about to lose everything we have.”
A GoFundMe account is set up where donations can be made to help the family keep their home. “We’re closer than normal than any other family I’ve known or seen. I mean, that’s what keeps us going is family and God.”
There will be a benefit for the Towe family this Saturday at the Vintage Auction House in Gulfport at 2 p.m. There will be a live and silent auction and fish plates available. The family says all donations help.
Here is a link to the family’s GofundMe page. https://www.gofundme.com/ng8dio