Jacksonville, Fla.-- In the face of a life-threatening diagnosis, Action News discovered two local people are now fighting for their lives.
Fred Eckert is a father, husband and 21 year veteran of the Clay County Sheriff's Office.
"It was on the 21st, when I got the news, I was positive for pancreatic cancer," said Eckert.
Joanne Manzi is a wife, mother and law clerk.
"They did a bone marrow biopsy and it showed multiple myleoma," said Manzi.
At 48 and 52, Fred and Joanne face terrifying diagnoses.
"I had to tell my son I had cancer....That was the hardest part," said Manzi.
"It felt like my whole world was crashing -- it was pretty hard," said Eckert's wife.
But this isn't a story about dying. This is a story about living.
"I had two choices. Roll over and die or to fight like hell and I'm a survivor," said Eckert.
"I can't let it beat me," said Manzi.
Joanne and Fred are fighting for their lives. For Joanne, fighting means hitting the streets and getting people to join the International Bone Marrrow registry.
"There's 10,000 that are waiting for a bone marrow transplant," said Manzi.
Every stranger she signs up, every hand she shakes, gets Joanne one step closer to finding a bone marrow match for herself or someone else fighting bone cancer.
For Fred, fighting means being the one to accept help.
"Working hundreds of cases in my 21 years, involving victimized children, I've always been the person who helps," said Eckert.
In October, his family at the Clay County Sheriff's Office organized a fundraiser to help his family with the cost of expensive cancer treatments. In the face of a death sentence, both Joanne and Fred are choosing to fight.
"You can get depressed just by reading 2-5 years. I didn't want to know. I don't want to fit into a category and I don't want it to consume my life," said Manzi.
"I don't want to know how much time is left. It's an educated guess. I'm educated and I can guess too," said Eckert.
Manzi did find a match in Germany. The operation will happen soon and we will be following up to see how it goes.
