Help for Eric Bakke!

Hi, my name is Heather Bakke, and I am starting a fundraiser to help my brother Eric Bakke with his living expenses to help battle against brain cancer. The type of tumor Eric is dealing with is Oligodendroglioma. Eric is one of the kindest people I know and would do anything to help others, so now it is our opportunity to show Eric that same love and compassion.

Since Eric has been in the hospital, I have had so many people reaching out wanting to know what they can do to help Eric. In the months leading up to his diagnosis, Eric lost his job, which depleted his bank account. If I could think of something we could do for Eric, it would be to eliminate this worry. Any funds raised would be used for Eric’s past and future expenses. We understand that not everyone is able to help out financially, so Eric would also be happy to accept your prayers, positive thoughts, or a hug to your favorite cat.

The details of Eric’s diagnosis:

On March 31, 2022, Eric was out with our cousin Andrew playing trivia when he noticed Eric's speech was slurring, and his face was drooping. Andrew thought Eric was having a stroke, so he rushed him to the ER in Buffalo. The doctor thought Eric had Bell's palsy but wanted to do an MRI to make sure. The MRI showed that Eric had a baseball-sized tumor in the prefrontal part of his brain. Eric was taken to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and had surgery on April 4th to remove as much of the tumor as possible. The surgery went well, but the pathology of the tumor showed that it was cancerous. The remaining part of the tumor will be treated with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. Eric recently met with his oncology team, and they have told us that most people with this type of cancer have a life expectancy of 3-5 years, with some living as long as seven years.