Benefit on Saturday backs Eli Howard, active community member in Medina

Howard is battling stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer

Provided photos: Eli Howard, left, is shown before taking the stage as a stand-up comedian. At right he is queuing a song as a deejay.

MEDINA – There will be a benefit on Saturday for a Medina man who is well known in the community, from years of volunteering in youth sports, serving as a deejay at events and performing as a stand-up comedian.

Eli Howard, 50, is battling stage 4 metastatic cancer. He said the cancer isn’t curable but is manageable and he feels optimistic about the future.

Eli Howard is shown with his wife, Jana, and their daughters, Kylee (left) and Jelia.

Howard and his wife, Jana, have two daughters, Jelia, age 21; and Kylee, age 17. Mrs. Howard is owner of A Kut Above on Main Street in Medina.

The benefit on Saturday starts at 11 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Club on North Gravel Rad. The 500 chicken barbecue dinners have already sold out.

There are at least 120 baskets up for raffle and the raffle drawing begins at 6 p.m. Winners don’t have to be present at the drawing. There will also be 50/50s and a silent auction.

Howard said he deeply appreciates the community rallying on his behalf.

He started working at age 19 in the laundry department at the former Orleans County Nursing Home and served there for 28 years. In 2021, he began at Wende Correctional Facility, also working in the laundry department.

Howard was stricken in March with gout, and was unable to walk. He also has suffered from congestive heart failure and diabetes. He was able to leave the hospital on June 24 after 14 weeks of care. While hospitalized, doctors found cancer and began treatment.

Howard takes two chemo pills each morning, and will have a shot every three months to fight the cancer. He can feel himself on the mend.