Steve Hare - Ohio Varsity

Please join us in supporting Steve Hare and his family as they navigate through tough times after Steve was diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) for a third time.

For 25 years, Steve, affectionately known on social media as “Ohio Varsity,” has devoted himself to covering high school sports in Northeast Ohio. In all likelihood, you may have seen him snapping pictures from the sidelines of your kid’s games, interviewing them after a hard-fought win, and celebrating their growth from when they first stepped on the court or field.

Through Steve’s passion for high school sports and dedication to providing our students coverage he has become an intrinsic part of our communities, becoming much more than the guy taking pictures and writing stories. We deeply appreciate his dedication, and we value his involvement in the community.

Last month, Steve learned his MCL (cancer diagnosis) had returned for a third time. While Steve will face several obstacles in his third treatment, he remains committed to covering high school sports this spring, and hopefully, for several more years.

This news is devastating, and we lament knowing such a crucial and cherished character in our community is suffering. In light of Steve’s contributions and dedication, we feel called to give back and to support him and his family during this difficult time.

Please consider donating and/or sharing this GoFundMe so that we may alleviate some of the burden as Steve and his family navigate this challenging time.

To learn more about what Steve is facing, please continue reading below.

Steve was first diagnosed with MCL in February of 2009. At the time, MCL’s life expectancy was 3-5 years, but Steve was much younger than the average MCL patient and that allowed his team of oncologists to treat his disease much more aggressively.

After almost a year of chemo, Steve was able to achieve his first remission and successfully completed an experimental Autologous Stem Cell transplant. Due to this transplant, he was able to remain in remission until February 2019 when his MCL returned to challenge him again.

Steve was fortunate to be included in another experimental treatment called Car-T Therapy.

Car-T therapy, an immunotherapy designed to retrain T cells in the patient’s body to hunt down and destroy cancerous cells.

With Car-T therapy, Steve’s doctors suggested a cure could be possible. Unfortunately, Steve fell into the 50-percent of Car-T patients who experienced a relapse.

Due to having two previous transplants, Steve’s options are limited to a new drug, known as a BTK inhibitor and an allogeneic transplant that uses donor cells. The allogeneic transplant carries far more, and deadly side effects and transplant patients have just a 58 percent chance of living one year beyond the transplant.

Those grim statistics led Steve and his wife Paulette to choose the BTK inhibitor, known as Calquence, a drug that costs almost $17,000 for a one-month supply.