A rock band of six gynecologic oncology surgeons from across the country are coming to the Flathead Valley for a benefit concert that aims to support Flathead Cancer Aid Services.

On July 2, No Evidence of Disease, or NED, will perform at Inspire HOPE, a benefit that collects funds for families dealing with cancer.

The band’s title comes from a term each doctor has used to tell someone they’re cancer-free.

“Saying there’s no evidence of the disease is the best news we can give a patient,” Dr. Joanie Hope of New York said. “We wanted our music and band to be tied to that message of hope.”

The event will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish. Ticket prices vary between $50 and $100 based seat proximity to the evening’s performance by the band.

The night will start with a garden and patio reception with catered food and drinks, including an art auction and aerial show by Levitation Nation before the concert begins.

The benefit is hosted by HOPE 406, an organization that works to create unique events using local businesses to raise money for Flathead health-related charities.

Ming Lovejoy with HOPE 406 said they decided to pair with Flathead Cancer Aid because it’s one of the few organizations in the valley that focuses on helping cancer patients with daily, non-medical needs often not covered by medical insurance.

She said the organization helps patients with rent, mortgage, car payments and “even down to affording healthy food, which often falls low on the list of priorities when managing chemo bills,” Lovejoy said.

“People imagine the type of patients who need help are low-income families,” she said. “But when cancer hits, it can affect anyone. Even a family with two solid incomes could be wiped out by this.”

Lovejoy said she hopes to raise $75,000 through the benefit.

“I know it seems bold, but I know with the generosity of this community and the kind of excitement we’re being met with, I think it really could happen,” she said.

There will be parts of the evening that focus on raising awareness as the message is driven by entertainment.

Lovejoy asked the NED band to come as doctors who have personally experienced the importance of the cause, and who can also draw in the crowd.

Dr. Hope said the band has the same universal themes that come with rock and roll.

“We focus on love, survival and loss. Inspiration,” she said. “Our songs aren’t specifically focused on cancer, but when you write original music it’s a product of who you are. And when you get to know the band, what our cause is, you can hear it in our music.”

The six musicians with NED met in 2008 during a professional conference. As a joke, the conference hosts asked doctors to group together for a performance in front of thousands of other doctors.

Those who responded practiced their parts of a song from afar. When they met, the feeling of a band already had been established.

All the doctors are gynecologic oncologists who tackle cancers below the belt. They’re scattered, living in places such as New York, Oregon, North Carolina, Alaska and Louisiana.

The long-distance band produced its first album in 2009. Within two years a second album came out. Hope said they’re in the process of creating a third album.

“These are all people who were musicians as young people, who dreamed of being musicians before establishing the dream of becoming a doctor,” she said. “One succumbed to the other as the reality of becoming a doctor kicked in.”

Now, she said, those dreams meet in concerts.

Every three months they do a mini tour, with proceeds going toward the Women’s Cancer Foundation or local organizations.

Dr. William “Rusty” Robinson, a professor of gynecologic oncology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans said the band became an outlet from daily work.

On an average day, each of the musicians gives heartbreaking news to a family, then tries to fight the disease growing within their patient, whether through education or from a surgery room.

“There is a message of hope to patients, who are often our biggest fans,” he said. “But it’s also therapeutic for us. We put down stuff from work, pick up a guitar and suddenly we’re musicians on tour instead of doctors.”

To purchase tickets for the benefit, visit https://www.ticketriver.com/event/19919. Tickets are also on sale at National Parks Realty in Whitefish, or call 406-250-6644.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at [email protected].