CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After Steve Hardy was diagnosed with cancer in his left eye, without insurance to pay for treatment, friends have banded together to support the family through fundraiser campaigns.

Hardy, owner of Hardy Home Improvement, was diagnosed with optical melanoma after he began experience pain and blurred vision in his left eye. Doctors discovered a tumor the size of a portabella mushroom.

Steve Hardy (left) with his wife and four children.

Hardy’s wife, Christy, said that eye will have to be removed. Between the surgery and various procedures to ensure the cancer has not spread, medical bills are mounting.

The family has received some support from Centennial Hospital for the eye removal surgery; however, future diagnostic and treatment costs will have to be paid by the family in full, she said. Steve will also be out of work while recovering from his surgery.

Both Hardys are self-–employed Christy runs a hair care business in Clarksville – and are uninsured. Christy told Clarksville Now the cost of insurance for their family of six was just too high.

“That’s been another headache on top of everything else,” Christy said. “We have checked on insurance, and it’s just so expensive. We’ve got four kids, and by the time you add them on, it was just outrageous. We just can’t afford it, to be honest.”

Community offers support

Heather Koster, a friend of the Hardy family, started a GoFundMe campaign to help with medical bills. As of Wednesday, the campaign had raised $2,575 of its $50,000 goal.

“He’s a man that just works and works and works, and when he’s not working, he’s helping people that need help,” Koster told Clarksville Now.

She is also organizing a spaghetti dinner fundraiser and silent auction to be held at Keller Williams on Aug. 8. The Warehouse has also reached out to the Hardys about holding a fundraiser event.

“That means so much to us. The people that have reached out with love and support for us, it just means the world to us. It’s keeping us motivated and going,” Christy Hardy said.

For more information on these and other fundraising attempts, visit the group “Fighting for Steve Hardy” on Facebook.