Lemonade stands to selling toys: A Belle River family fights ‘king’ of cancers

A local 6-year-old is looking to help his grandfather, raising money for his surgery through a lemonade stand. CTV Windsor’s Robert Lothian shares more.

In a day of blistering heat, six-year-old Landon Bevan was all smiles as he stood on his driveway handing out lemonade; after all, he knew it was for an important cause.

Bevan and his brother Rhyen crafted the idea to host a lemonade stand in an effort to help their grandpa, Roy Knight, pay for medical treatment for pancreatic cancer.

“We had to, like, pull up the tents and put the balloons on the side of the garage,” Landon explained.

“I made a couple of the signs that my mom stuck into the ground.”

The aspiring doctor also pitched ideas to create a stand where he tells jokes for money, or even sell his toys if need be.

“He’s pretty smart for a six-year-old,” Knight said with a smile.

Throughout Saturday afternoon, visitors stopped by the Belle River home to grab a lemonade or a raffle ticket.

Funds support Knight’s efforts to travel to Florida and receive NanoKnife surgery, a form of treatment not regularly offered in Canada.

The stay is estimated to cost about $80,000.

While Knight is seeking community help to try and prolong his life, Roy and his daughter Ashley Bevan believe his story shines a spotlight on the need for added pancreatic cancer research and support in healthcare.

Treatment

In Canada, pancreatic cancer is often treated by chemotherapy, radiation, or the Whipple procedure.

Knight began chemotherapy in the days after receiving the diagnosis in February and has been seeing medical experts in London.

“Chemo really takes a toll on somebody, you know, out of the two weeks, I only have four good days in those two weeks,” Knight explained.

Since his diagnosis, Knight has stayed with Ashley, a nurse practitioner, to ensure he was receiving the care he needed.

“Having pancreatic cancer is awful,” Ashley said

“Hearing that that’s the cancer that it is, knowing that it’s the king of all cancers.”

Through countless hours of reading, she learned it’s “very muddied waters” when it comes to pancreatic cancer research and treatment.

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, in 2024 pancreatic cancer was expected to be the third most deadly form of cancer in the country.

“There really does need to be more research done on pancreatic cancer treatment guidelines,” Ashley said.

The family learned of “NanoKnife,” a treatment which uses pulses of electricity to destroy cancer cells without damaging nearby organs and cells, per Ontario Health. Currently, the procedure is used in Canada for prostate cancer.

However, the surgery is not regularly available in Canada for pancreatic cancer, and Bevin said clinical trials require requests from Canadians.

“When I asked, how do we request them to do a research trial? [The research coordinator] said, there needs to be a need and that the public needs to ask for it,” she noted.

The family wants to see the treatment reconsidered for clinical trials, and if successful, used as a regular response to pancreatic cancer.

“I think to myself like we’re just one family of many who are going through this exact thing,” Ashley said.

Diagnosis

Ahead of his cancer diagnosis, Knight said he spent many months with abdominal pain.

He went to an emergency room on multiple occasions, but the cancer was not detected until they urged medical officials to do a biopsy.

“They assured us that it was not cancer. Then we got the call on his birthday that it was,” Ashely said.

The family wants to see more procedures and resources available to ensure Canadians have access to screening processes, which could help lead to early detection for some forms of cancer.

As for Knight’s surgery, they’ve tentatively set it for July 24th in Florida, pending they raise enough money.

“You know you just want to go on as long as you can, and hopefully this NanoKnife helps to see the kids grow up,” Knight said.

Outside of Landon’s efforts to raise money, the family has set up a GoFundMe to help reach their goal.