Car cruise aims to help with bills for Penn Township man's cancer treatment

Nick Van Bibber is in the midst of a battle against cancer that has put an emotional and financial strain on him and his Penn Township family.

“It’s a roller coaster ride,” said his mother, Silvia.

Friends are rallying around the 23-year-old to organize a charity car show Sunday. Their hope is the proceeds will ease the burden of the costs he faces for treatment of stage 4 Hodgkin lymphoma.

The Cruise for a Cause will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. at Word of Life Church on Route 136, west of Greensburg. There is a $10 fee for anyone registering a car at the show, with dash plaques provided for the first 50 entries. Admission is free for spectators.

“We’ve reached about 14,000 people from the area car community,” said Nicholas Yen of Hempfield, a friend who is helping to plan and promote the car show.

The choice of a fundraiser was inspired by the interest Yen shares with Van Bibber.

“He is a car enthusiast,” said Yen, who became friends with the family when he met Van Bibber’s older brother, Chris. “We all like cars.”

Yen works at the Victory car dealership near Delmont, one of the cruise sponsors.

Van Bibber enjoys working on cars but is focused now on his health.

“His engine blew up on his car, so he’s using our car to go to work,” said his mother.

Van Bibber hopes to continue working in sales for AT&T through his extended course of treatment, but his mother noted there are times when he’s had to leave work early.

“Every treatment, he’s going to have different side effects,” she said. “Sometimes he has bad days.”

Van Bibber was diagnosed with lymphoma in mid-June. The first sign of trouble was a lump that appeared on his neck and initially was treated with antibiotics.

Further tests revealed that the growth was cancerous and that it had spread further than originally suspected, changing his diagnosis from Stage II to the more serious Stage IV.

“It was a complete shock to us,” his mother said of the diagnosis. Her son, she said, is “kind of quiet. He doesn’t say much, but it’s weighing on him.”

She said the family is encouraged that her son has been responding well to chemotherapy treatments he is receiving every other week at Forbes Hospital in Monroeville.

But, there are side effects, including hair loss, stomach cramps and pain.

He receives shots to help boost his immune system, but the chemotherapy was interrupted when he had to get treatment for an infection in his lower back, according to his mother.

The American Cancer Society estimates there will be more than 8,800 new cases of Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed this year in the United States and about 900 deaths attributed to the disease.

Most common in early adulthood, the cancer involves abnormal growth of lymphocytes, white blood cells that help protect the body from germs.

Van Bibber has some medical coverage through his father, Dwaine’s, insurance, but the costs will continue to mount with a chemotherapy regimen stretching to at least 12 treatments and additional testing required.

Silvia Van Bibber expressed gratitude for Yen’s efforts to put on the cruise benefiting her son.

“It’s really nice and sweet of him,” she said. “He’s an amazing person, taking his personal time to do this for us.”

The event will include trophy presentations, a raffle and music.

Additional sponsors are welcome, Yen said. For information, call 724-374-3710.

The family also has set up a GoFundMe page to accept donations. As of Monday, contributions totaled $4,000.

According to Silvia Van Bibber, any money received beyond that required for medical costs will be donated to Young Adult Survivors United, a Wexford-based nonprofit that offers programs and support for young adult cancer survivors and their caregivers.