FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Fort Wayne Police Department’s charity hockey team, the Fort Wayne Freeze, will be hosting a hockey game to benefit an officer’s wife who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Homicide detective Lucas MacDonald, has served on the police force for 14 years. Back in March, a week after celebrating his wedding anniversary, he learned the news that no husband wants to hear.

“We got blood tests back that weren’t good,” Lucas said.

His high school sweetheart and wife for 15 years, Anika, was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow that affects white blood cells.

“I’ve been part of helping with these events before, and it maybe doesn’t hit much home, but now that I am at the receiving end of it, you kind of realize what it means to those people are going through it,” Lucas said. “Sometimes when you are doing the stuff, you’re like ‘oh I have no problem helping.’ But now that I am receiving it, it really opens the door and sheds the light on what it means to the people that receive it. Money aside and all of that stuff aside, just the support.”

Lucas describes his wife as “the most amazing woman.” The two have three children together who are 12-years-old and younger.

The Fort Wayne Freeze was established in 2004 and has hosted many games and tournaments against public safety teams. The funds from the game usually goes to a charity of the team’s choice or a game is hosted for a specific cause such as the Anika MacDonald game.

“When people go through a life changing event like this, it can get draining on you emotionally, physically and obviously financially because hospitals are expensive,” said Officer Spencer Munger. “We try to take the burden off as much as we can, and the best way we found to do that is to raise money and help with the financial burdens.”

The hockey game will be at Parkview Icehouse on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. There will be an after party immediately following the game.

For those who can’t make the game but still would like to help the family there is a silent auction where all funds will go to the MacDonald family. Click here for the charity auction. Bidding ends at 8 p.m.