Image: GoFundMe via Vicky Falk / A Chilliwack resident has initiated an online fundraiser for a Chilliwack dad, Michael Fang, who has been diagnosed with lung and brain cancer. He is pictured here with his wife Rong, daughter and son. 

By Mike Vanden Bosch

Chilliwack man battling cancer

UPDATE: Chilliwack hockey mom thanks supporters as Chilliwack dad battling cancer enters hospice

Feb 12, 2024 | 9:04 AM

**Update at 10:20 a.m. Friday, February 16: Vicky Falk, a Chilliwack hockey mom who started an online fundraiser for a Chilliwack dad who was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer, says Michael Fang of Chilliwack has entered hospice care.

“Thank you to everyone who has donated,” Falk wrote earlier this week in an update on GoFundMe dated Monday, Feb. 12. “This will be a huge help as Rong and her family adjust to living without Michael. Michael chose yesterday to be moved to hospice and not continue with any more treatments. He will most likely move there today. The doctors have given him 1-2 weeks. Please have him and his family in your thoughts. May the hospice bring peace and comfort to him in his last days. Please continue to share this to as many people as possible so we can help lighten the load for Rong.”**

Original story below:

CHILLIWACK — A local hockey mom has initiated an online fundraiser for a Chilliwack family whose main provider has been diagnosed with cancer.

Vicky Falk wrote on GoFundMe that she started a public funding drive to support Michael Fang, who received a diagnosis of lung and brain cancer on December 15, 2023.

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Falk, who became connected to Fang through her son’s hockey team, states that doctors determined the cancer in Fang’s brain was very aggressive and inoperable, leaving him with very little time left. Fang’s son Lowell plays hockey with Falk’s son.

“This has been a shock to many, especially his young family who will now live without a father and husband that they depended on so much,” Falk wrote in her GoFundMe appeal. “The doctors discovered that the cancer in his brain was very aggressive and inoperable. He has been given weeks (if that) to live.”

Michael and his wife, Rong, were high school sweethearts who first married in 2008. Fang moved here on his own in 2014 from China, as an international student at Thompson Rivers University. He lived and worked in Canada, supporting his family from afar, going back to visit once in 2019. His family finally joined him in 2022 and they have been settling in as Canadians, Falk stated, becoming a part of the Chilliwack community through sports like hockey and soccer.

“Michael was always one to offer his help on our team. Even when he wasn’t sure of what or how to do something, he was willing to learn,” Falk said. “His hope is that his kids will grow up to be good people that are responsible and reliable, which he has provided an example of in his short time with them. He has asked that I do anything to help his family, and I know that collecting funds to lighten Rong’s load will be a very big help. My hope for this fundraiser is that we can show his family, Rong (wife), Lowell (son, 9) and Eve (daughter, 4) that we are a community that takes care of each other when things are hard.”

As of Monday morning, February 12, nearly $7,400 had been raised to support the the family. All proceeds raised will assist the family as they navigate some very difficult days ahead.

“There will be many hard days ahead of living without Michael’s support as a father and main provider for their family,” Falk concluded. “From paying bills, to getting groceries, child care, etc., Rong will have less worries with our help. She will need as much help as possible while she learns more English and looks for a job that can help support her family. Please share this with anyone that might know and want to support this family.”