Cancer Relief Fund For Craig Houghton's Family

Summary

My Dad has been fighting for his life against an enemy named Cancer. A few years ago he was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and life has never been the same. After going through chemo and radiation, it seemed he gained the upper hand, but apparently Cancer wasn’t done with him yet.

Soon after, we discovered cancer had moved to his liver.  The doctor put him on an aggressive chemo, but he was plagued with problem after problem and hospitalization after hospitalization.

Due to all of these problems my Dad had to stop his chemo treatments for a while which allowed the Cancer to gain the upper hand. My Dad continues to fight and hasn’t given up.  Unfortunately, my Dad’s has not been able to work for quite some time and my Mom is unable to work due to her COPD.  The bills and expenses continue to pile up at an insane rate with no income coming in except for help from myself, family and our church family, and a few other small sources.

My Dad has been against starting a GoFundMe for a while as he feels others need it more than him, but as the financial pressure & stress of battling this disease continues to build and all other avenues exhausted he’s agreed to let me create this page for them.

My Dad has spent his entire life helping others and being a blessing to others and it’s my hope and prayers that in his time of need others can be a blessing to him and our family.

It’ is also my hope that this community can help my family lift some of the financial pressure. Any donation would be a blessing and if you can’t donate, all we ask is that you keep my Dad, Craig Houghton, and my family in your prayers. I will be providing updates on how he is doing on this page as well.

And for those of you interested in reading a much more detailed account of Craig’s journey, I’ve included it below. for you to read. It's my hope that his journey and battle with Cancer can help or inspire others. in some way. 

Craig’s Journey Part 1 - The Cough

Almost 2 years ago my Dad’s life changed forever when he discovered he had lung cancer. We never thought it could happen to our family, but it has and our lives will never be the same.

A few months before Craig (my Dad) discovered he had cancer we noticed he was coughing a lot. My Dad always had issues with his sinuses draining and coughs, but this was different.

His coughing became much worse so I advised him that he might want to see a Doctor.  My Dad didn’t pay much mind to it at first, but that changed when his annoying dry cough turned into a dry cough with a little bit of blood mixed in. Once again, I advised him to get to a Doctor, and eventually, after we continued to nag him, my Dad decided to go and get it checked out.

After a few different doctor appointments, scans and tests they eventually discovered a small mass in his right lung. It’s not what we wanted to hear that’s for sure. But we prayed that it would be nothing since his Doctor said it could be benign.

This led us to the hospital for a biopsy.  That day will always be carved into my memories. My Dad went into surgery and a few hours later (it seemed forever) the Doctor who performed the procedure called me over and told me that my Dad had lung cancer.

Craig’s Journey Part 2 - The Battle Begins

Fast forward a few weeks, we met with his new Doctor and he walked us through the attack plan for my Dad’s lung cancer. He told us he believed a combo of Chemo & Radiation appeared to be the best way to start. He also told us that while the cancer was already at Stage 3 and aggressive, there were still a lot of options for us.

My Dad started treatment and he’s never been tested and scanned so much in his life. It took an extreme amount of energy away from him. He was definitely tired, weak, lost his hair, and didn’t eat as much as he used to during this treatment, but he continued to praise God, stay positive and fight.

We all felt blessed to see that, even with all the pain he was going through during treatment, he was responding better than many of the other patients in similar situations according to his Doctor.

Time passed and by God’s grace my Dad reached the finish line. He completed his chemo & radiation treatment and got to ring the Hope bell. Ringing this bell is a huge accomplishment at the Cancer Center handling my Dad's treatment.  We all felt a sense of relief. I hadn’t seen my Dad that happy in quite a while. My Dad, my Mom, my Brother, and I all truly believed that my Dad would soon be Cancer free.


After more tests and scans and a little time passing his Doctor felt comfortable taking him off chemo and radiation and just keeping him on immunotherapy which is supposed to eliminate any new cancer cells that pop up. I remember thinking that this treatment sounded like something off of Star Trek. In the grand scheme of things, this treatment protocol sounded a lot better than chemo & radiation.

My Dad’s hair came back, the weight he had lost came back, and while he still had some pain and a few small issues caused by the chemo and radiation he felt good overall. He was having issues with his lung sweating. His lung would fill up with fluid from time to time and cause discomfort. Apparently, it’s quite common with patients who have lung cancer.

In most cases, he would go in for a short procedure where they would drain his lung. And this would happen on and off for a while, but eventually, the sweating appeared to stop.

Life went on and my Dad tried to move forward with his life. He continued to get tested, visit the lab and receive his protective cancer treatment. But then we got the news we didn’t want to hear.

Craig’s Journey Part 3 - The Fight Continues

My Dad went in for his usual scheduled appointment to receive news on his most recent CT Scan. Sadly, the treatment they had my Dad on for quite a while had been ineffective. We learned that in some rare cases immunotherapy does not work and apparently my Dad was one of those cases.

So instead of “killing” cancer cells as they appeared, the Cancer spread to his liver. A new battle plan was formed involving tightly focused radiation to kill the cancer in his liver. Sadly, this didn’t work either, and soon thereafter, we discovered the cancer had spread within the liver. And things just continued to go downhill from there.

We talked with the Doctor and he recommended a more aggressive chemo approach. My Dad agreed and started his new treatment later that week. At first, he seemed to be doing okay, but it didn’t take long for us to notice that the chemo was giving him a much harder time than his first time. But my Dad continued to fight and push through. I still believe that all of his years serving in the Army helped to give him the strength to fight!


My Dad lost his hair, got weak, sleepy, aches, pains, and started to have some trouble eating. It was visible that his new chemo treatment was really taking a toll on him. Food became a nasty taste to him and protein drinks became more and more important.  My Dad is allergic to Whey so it wasn’t easy to find a Protein drink he could consume.

We eventually discovered a special plant protein drink that he seemed to enjoy. Some time passed and we continued to rally around him and support him in any way we could. My Dad was starting to have more issues that affected his ability to work.  The pain was overtaking his mind and his body. It was around that time where things really started to take a turn for the worse.

I got a call from the Cancer Center telling me I needed to come and pick up my Dad. They said I needed to take him to the ER due to some issues they noticed with him. After being admitted into the hospital and tests run they determined he had the flu. For someone with Cancer, the flu can be a killer.

After spending over a week in the hospital, my Dad recovered and was released.  Since he was weak and still recovering from the flu, he had to go off his chemo treatments for a while. We hated the idea of him being off his treatment, but at some level, the family thought maybe a small break from chemo would do him good. Give his body time to recover.

And one thing that continues to stand out in my mind is that during all of this, no matter what he continued to praise the Lord. Seeing his faith through these trials has and continues to inspire me.

He eventually started chemo again and within a few weeks, he was back off the chemo because the Doctors were worried about his platelets. A few days later we noticed he wasn’t feeling too good. He was more sluggish, sleeping more, seemed to be struggling to catch air, trouble walking.

We knew he was slowly losing weight due to not eating as much and obviously, Chemo can make you feel very sick but this just felt different. My Mom and I both felt something else was wrong. It eventually got so bad we had to take him to the ER again.

Craig’s Journey Part 4 - Spending More Time At The ER

After a long night and a lot of tests they determined his lung had started to sweat again. They drained almost 2 liters of fluid out of his lung. They also discovered he had developed a lung infection and had dehydration. He had to get some of his strength back so they started him on a pill to help him eat more. They also had him start on antibiotic treatment for six weeks.

Once he was home, they suspended the chemo treatments as they needed him to be strong enough to fight the lung infection.  A few weeks later he’s back in the ER. Similar issues as before and more weight loss. The pill they gave him to help him eat more didn’t seem to have much effect. It seemed to help while he was in the hospital, but at home, it just wasn’t working. They also discovered that the appetite pill was making him loopy due to some of its composition.

He was home for a while when we noticed that he was suffering some mental confusion. He seemed really loopy. Back to the ER and once again, more liquid in the lungs. At this point, the family and I were wondering why they just didn’t put in a tube to help his lung drain. But apparently, they try to avoid it unless it is absolutely necessary.  While he was in the hospital, they decided it was best if they did the drain.

Before the tube was installed a number of tests were run on my Dad and I praise God they did because this led them to somehow discovering that one of my Dad’s airways that lead into the lung was completely sealed either due to cancer or radiation. They decided to put a stent in the lung to try and open it up. A few days later he had the surgery which was successful.


Although he was in pain, he seemed to feel much better. Apparently, the airway was closed for quite a while. They also believed that would help with the lung sweating issue. And I have to admit, he sounded and seemed way better.

He was still having a lot of issues from cancer. His energy level seemed much better. His brain fog appeared to be gone, his voice sounded better. We felt blessed. Little wins can really give you a much-needed boost.

A couple of weeks passed and he seemed like a new man in many ways. The eating continued to be a struggle as everything tasted horrible, but he was trying. We were still hoping once he fully recovered and got done with his antibiotic treatment for the lung infection he could get back on chemo and destroy the cancer!

He even tried to return to work for a little during this time, but sadly all of this was short lived.

Craig’s Journey Part 5 - Something Just Isn’t Right

A few weeks passed and he continued his antibiotic treatments, no chemo, and continued his battle with eating. I was speaking with him on the phone regularly at this point, but due to work and other issues I hadn’t been around in about a week or two. I knew he had an upcoming Doctor appointment, but due to meetings for work I couldn’t make it.

I get a call early in the morning and it was my Dad crying. While he was in the hospital for the most recent visit they did a CT Scan and his Doctor showed him the results. The Cancer had spread out of control. It had now taken over most of the liver and a decent bit of the lung. My Dad was told that he should consider bringing in Hospice. The aggressive chemo treatment, even though it had been off and on didn’t appear to have much success.

His Doctor said that in 4 weeks when he finished the rest of his antibiotics, he could come back, do another scan, and depending on a few things my Dad could try another chemo.  The doctor did say that there was no guarantee it would work and that it could in some cases, make things worse.

My Dad never gave up! He continued to pray, have faith and just trust that no matter what happened, God was working in his life. My Dad had many rough days, a lot of tears, but he continued to hold on to hope!

I visited him a few days later and I was shocked at what I saw. My Dad looked much thinner, weak, pale, was having trouble talking, brain fog, weak and I just didn’t understand. He obviously had his problems, but he had seemed a lot better. It wasn’t just me who thought it.

I told my Mom, who was struggling herself that day with her COPD that something didn’t feel right. How did he go from the huge improvement we saw after the surgery to this condition in just weeks. I told him we needed to go to the Doctor's office sooner than later.  

The nurse saw my Dad and knew something was wrong as he did not look that bad when she saw him at his last appointment. He couldn’t really walk, his memory was all over the place. He failed some basic memory tests and just based on how he looked they had me rush him to the ER again.

 Craig’s Journey Part 6 - Beware High Calcium Levels

After more tests and labs they discovered my Dad had a high level of calcium in the blood. I didn’t know this, but apparently as Cancer gets worse, it can cause calcium to leak from the bones, and then it gets into the bloodstream and this can cause a host of issues. Most of them are exactly what he has been experiencing since he took a turn for the worse. It can even cause you to slip into a coma and kill you.

They immediately administered a drug that his calcium levels and due to how much weight he lost they were considering a temporary feeding tube to help him get some calories into him.  Eventually, after talking with nurses and doctors the feeding tube idea was rejected as my Dad really did not want it.

I will admit, I broke down in the hospital. I wanted him to accept the temporary feeding tube because I just saw how weak he was and how much weight he had lost.  In my mind, if he could just get enough energy in him he could fight harder. Me, being the oldest son, I am the one looking out for him and helping him, along with my Mom, who with her COPD, has been a Rockstar.

I have my moments, my anger, and saying things I don’t mean.  I felt that his not accepting the feeding tube was defeat. I don’t think this now, but at that moment I felt defeated because I felt he had given up. I haven’t talked about myself or my family much in this, but we’ve all had many days and nights of crying.

Fast forward a few days, we head back to the Doctors for a follow-up. My Dad has continued to get weaker, but due to a new pill, the Doctor gave him he is eating more and it seems like his taste is finally returning. It cheers me up to see him eat and in a few days family is coming down from Connecticut so I’m hoping that will cheer him up. I continue to pray for a miracle because I know without it, even with him eating more the Cancer is still spreading and he’s continuing to get weaker.

He’s currently at home resting and being looked after by my Mom and myself. It continues to be a struggle for her with her COPD so I try to be there as much as possible to help. He’s still trying to eat and do for himself when he can. We got him a walker and we try to make sure he has everything close by.

 Craig’s Journey Part 7 - I Can't Imagine A World Without Him

It’s killing me to see my Dad go through this and I’ve never been so scared in my life. Scared that there is a possibility my Dad won’t be here. It kills me to see the man who raised me and helped me become who I am in so much pain. It’s been a wave of emotions and I’ve broken down more times than I can count trying to write all of this for him.

For years my Dad worked well over 12 hours per day to provide a roof over our head, food for us, and more. And now, thanks to Cancer he can’t work or provide for the family and everything is slowly starting to fail around us. My Mom is working on trying to get disability but, that’s a slow process that been a struggle to achieve.

I’ve been trying to take care of my Dad and Mom’s affairs for quite a while. My Dad was the sole provider with his own business.  He hasn’t been able to work in quite a while and the bills are piling up.  Without my Dad working there just isn’t enough money coming in to support them during this time.  I contribute what I can along with some help from family and the church but it isn’t enough to cover the continued onslaught of bills and expenses.

My Dad has spent his whole life helping people. In his eyes, there are others who need it more. He doesn’t want to ask for help, but as things have continued to get worse, he has agreed.

In better times, my Dad would literally go to the power and water companies here in Columbus, Georgia, and pay people's past-due bills for them. He has always helped people and been there for anyone with a need.  It brought joy to my Dad to be a blessing for others and he never took credit for any of it. 

My Dad always saw the best in people and believed in people. He believed in being the light of Christ here on earth. Hopefully, the blessings he bestowed on others can now be bestowed upon him. 

It’s hard for my Dad and Mom and even myself to ask for help but if you feel God has placed it in your heart we’re asking for any support you can provide. And If you can’t afford to give we just ask that you please pray for my Dad and our family because we truly believe there is power in prayer and that God can work a miracle at any time! 

All funds will be used only for the ongoing support of paying bills, food, medicine, treatment, and other household expense to help provide them relief during this struggling time. My name is Josh Houghton, his son and I'll also be providing updates on my Dad and his battle. Thank you and God bless!

P.S.

I just wanted to share some different photos of my Dad with everyone!