The Right Call: Early detection helps pair of area refs beat cancer
WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) — After receiving major health scares, a duo of area football officials is back on the field calling games.
Both Jason Dunker and Todd Holliday were diagnosed with cancer last winter. Dunker had stage two melanoma while Holliday suffered from renal cell carcinoma.
Holliday first sought medical attention on Christmas Eve, and received the shocking news shortly thereafter.
“I was having some pain,” Holliday said. “I thought it was a kidney stone. I was busy, I put it off. I decided to go. The doctor came in and said ‘it’s not a kidney stone, you actually have a pretty large tumor on your kidney.’ With it being so aggressive, if I hadn’t gone in and gotten it done, it could have spread all over my body.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
Holliday lost his kidney as a result and gets scans every six months. He says that since his form of cancer doesn’t have symptoms, he was fortunate to experience pain and go to the emergency room.
Dunker was about to work one of his biggest game assignments every during his treatment. While he still called that contest, the disease also took a part of his body after a routine biopsy ended up giving him a scary result.
“I was two weeks away from working the state basketball championship, the 3A boys, and scheduling surgery at the same time,” Dunker said. “Met with an oncologist, my wife and I, and surgery was the only option to take out the cancer in my face and remove my lymph node as well.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
Dunker has since gotten scans every 60 days since that surgery.
The early detection resulted in both officials beating cancer in what can be considered a best-case scenario.
Holliday’s timing allowed him to schedule his operation between basketball and lacrosse seasons, not missing much time in the process.
He says those he works with helped him through the difficult time.
“We’ve got a great group of guys that took care of me when I was sick,” Holliday said. “It’s a great comradery, great brotherhood. It was important to be out there and be as close to normal as possible.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
However, Dunker opted to sit out the spring and not officiate lacrosse in 2025.
He considered stepping away entirely, but a special pep talk managed to change his mind.
“Obviously, my first priority was making sure my health was good,” Dunker said. “I had thoughts about retiring after 25 years. Luckily my wife has better sense than I do and she was like ‘no way.’ I don’t have to come out and call 150 ball games a year. I look at it as I get to. It was a big priority for me to get back out and do what I love.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
Both advise others to take precautionary measures, especially given the elements in the Wilmington area.
“I never used sunscreen living at the beach,” Dunker said. “Especially for men in the sun, the dermatologist says if the UV ray is above a two then you need sunscreen. I’d suggest everybody get screened at least once a year for melanoma.”
“Especially around here with the PFAS in the water, it’s important to get things checked,” Holliday said. “My wife pushed me to go to the doctor that day and that’s why I went, ultimately. If you feel like something is wrong, go get it checked out.”
(Photo: Colton Emswiler/WWAY)
The pair has often worked on the same crew during the 2025 high school football season. That includes New Hanover’s playoff win last Friday.
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