As a devoted runner, cyclist, firefighter and father, Saukville resident Erik Kopp is no stranger to challenges, but the health issues that surfaced late last year have been giving him the fight of his life. Last November, Kopp, 36, learned he has a rare, difficult-to-treat form of cancer — hilar cholangiocarcinoma — and will ultimately need a liver transplant.
It was a co-worker at Harwood Engineering who first noticed that the whites of Kopp’s eyes looked yellow, suggesting he see a doctor. Kopp works full time as an architectural lighting designer at the Milwaukee firm.
He said he was stunned when the doctors at St. Luke’s Hospital in Milwaukee said he had cancer, but not overwhelmed.