On August 2017 our singer and beloved friend Matt Bencke was diagnosed with Stage IV Pancreatic Cancer at the age of 45. He died a few weeks later, leaving behind his loving wife and two wonderful daughters.

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Pancreatic cancer remains one of the toughest diseases that affects our generation.   Although pancreatic cancer is currently the 10th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the U.S, it is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths, after lung and colon. And it is on track to become the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths before 2030.This year, 57.000 people in the US will be diagnosed – and only 10% will survive past 5 years. Unfortunately, funding for pancreatic cancer research is disproportionately lower than other diseases -- due to the fact that the overall number of people diagnosed (but not the number of people who die) is lower than other forms of cancer, and people do not survive long enough to become advocates, or voters.

 

We decided to try and close the gap on pancreatic cancer research funding, in honor of Matt Bencke.  We have stepped up our game in the fight against this terrible disease.  Element47 came out of our basement and started performing in venues throughout Seattle and the US with the mission of raising funds to research and defeat pancreatic cancer.  The Brooklyn-Based band The Constructors joined our fight. Then many other artists joined our fight, including James LeBrie, singer of Dream Theater, Dave Dederer, founder of The Presidents of the United States of America, multiple Grammy winners Bill Frisell and Cecile McLorin Salvant, Blues legend Catherine Russell, multi-instrumentalist KishiBashi among others.

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In 2020, we built a dedicated event space to host events in support of our cause, and to record music - entirely on tape and with fully analog equipment - and distribute it with proceeds going towards our cause. 

​So far, we have raised over 2M$ for our fight, thanks to our incredible supporters around the world.

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You too can make a difference by attending one of our concerts, and making an online donation to PanCan and the Fred Hutch Cancer Center by clicking the button below. Any amount counts towards our fight!!