PEARISBURG, Va. – Pearisburg Police Department’s Jacob Gilbert found out that he had testicular cancer back in January. Already, he has had one surgery but the path to a full recovery is not yet complete.
“I’ve had one surgery where they took the tumor out,” Gilbert said. “I’m looking to go to UVA again to see if they can do some more scans and hopefully come out with another surgery date.”
Not only was the diagnosis hard for his family, but for his brothers on the police force as well.
“It was a hard hit,” Pearisburg Police Department Police Chief Richard Gautier said. “We knew that he was having some issues, but we really didn’t even factor cancer due to his age and he was in relatively good shape. It was just hard news to get.”
So, the entire department and Giles County as a whole stepped up to show their support.
Gautier and the rest of the department quickly set up a benefit meal that took place today at the Pearisburg Fire Department.
Custom shirts were sold that showcased support for Gilbert alongside hot dogs, chips, drinks, and desserts.
All of the money that was raised at the benefit meal will go towards supporting Gilbert and his family during his cancer treatments.
The fact that the community came out to support a cancer-stricken police officer was not a surprise to both Gilbert and Gautier, but rather the number of people that showed up.
“It’s just heartwarming,” Gautier said. “It’s pretty usual for Giles County and Pearisburg to support us during our events but this is way more than expected.”
If Gilbert wasn’t motivated already to beat the cancer, the support of his community gave him even more.
“It makes me want to go down there, get surgery, come back to work and get it done,” Gilbert said.
