Last winter my husband Andrew was diagnosed with stage four squamous cell carcinoma in the floor of his mouth. They later discovered he also has metastatic thyroid cancer.

He had been fighting what he thought was an infected salivary gland, but it turned out to be stage four squamous cell carcinoma. Despite not smoking or using tobacco in any way, he has a cancer mostly associated with heavy tobacco use.

On January 16th he underwent an extensive surgery at the University in Minneapolis to remove an egg-sized tumor and about half of his tongue, along with a couple of lymph nodes. They rebuilt his tongue with donor tissue from his arm. In April he finished seven weeks of radiation treatments plus 3 rounds of chemotherapy. In August he underwent a second surgery to remove his thyroid as well as a couple more lymph nodes.

On November 12 he had surgery to attempt to close a gastrocutaneous fistula that formed when they removed his peg tube. (His peg tube was removed in June but the site wouldn't heal.) During this surgery they discovered a large cancerous tumor that runs the length of the fistula. It is the same squamous cell carcinoma that originated in his mouth.

This was very unexpected and disheartening. We thought he was cancer free and that after this surgery he could get back to a more normal life.

The oncologist has scheduled both chemo and immunotherapy. He will be able to give Andrew a prognosis after he sees how the tumor responds to treatment. The hope is it will shrink the tumor enough to remove it surgically.

Andrew has been unable to work since Fall 2023. Your support, whether through prayers, financially, or both, is invaluable. Any financial contributions will go toward medical bills, travel expenses, and daily living expenses, allowing Andrew to focus on his health while also allowing him to fight this battle without financial stress.

Every donation, no matter the size, will make an impact and help lighten the heavy load. Your prayers, kindness, and generosity mean the world to us.

Any excess funds we receive will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

We will use this page to share updates on Andrew’s progress as we can.

Andrew's first surgery was exactly 6 months from the day of our wedding.

Andrew is normally very active. He loves to fish, hike, snowshoe, and ski.

He is also the best dog-dad in the world.

And the best husband.