Help Support Shawn Coles with Medical expenses

Hello Friends and Family. My name is Jolene Beaudette and I’m Shawn Coles’s significant other. I’m starting a go fund me page for Shawn.

With the holiday season here and the spirit of giving and receiving upon us I figured now was as appropriate time as any to start this page for him.

As many people are aware Shawn has been diagnosed with stage four Squamous Cell Carcinoma and will be starting his treatment regimen within the next couple of weeks.

Back in the late part of August Shawn started experiencing pain, numbness and tingling in his tongue. A few weeks went by and the symptoms persisted and were bothersome enough that he went into his primary care provider to get looked at. He was send home with no findings and was told to come back if it doesn’t get better. One day he had some bleeding in his mouth and I happened to look under his tongue and saw an area that looked very concerning. So I got him into see a local ENT doctor and he probed the area, put him on antibiotics and said to come back in a week to see if it was any better. A week later they Biopsied the site in 9 different areas because it still looked suspicious and the doctor ordered a CT scan of his head/neck at that time.

On September 9th while at the hospital over in Radiology getting his CT scan we were given the devastating news from the Doctor that the Pathology results came back as cancer. We then were immediately referred to a Head/Neck surgical oncology specialist In Omaha at the Methodist Hospital where Shawn was scheduled for surgery on October 1st.

After a long 6 hour surgery where they removed an 11mm tumor from the left floor of his mouth and also did a lymph node neck dissection where they removed 19 lymph nodes to check for metastasis. They attempted to skin graft from his left leg an area into his mouth to cover the tumor site that later failed and fell out. We had prayed and been hopeful that it would have been a localized tumor with no lymph node involvement but were given more devastating news at our two week post op appointment that their was extra nodal lymph node involvement that would require treatment.

We have since then experienced some setbacks that have delayed the treatment. The tumor that was removed was very deep and was also very close to his jaw bone, when the graft failed that left the area open and caused a significant amount of pain and a delay in the healing process. Shawn also had damage and impairment to his vocal cords from the intubation from his surgery that has caused him to have trouble talking and left him with a hoarse and raspy voice. He had to see a dental oncologist to have some teeth worked on prior to radiation therapy also.

He has seen a radiation oncologist and a chemotherapy medical oncologist. He was told that a combination of both treatments was the best and most effective option for him with this type of cancer as it is aggressive especially since their was lymph node involvement.

He had his CT simulation scan done on November 23rd in preparation to start his radiation treatment which is looking like 5 days a week for 7-9 weeks with a recommended 3 rounds of chemotherapy treatment in conjunction with the radiation. The next couple of weeks while we wait for his radiation plan to be finalized and his protective face/neck and chest shield to be made we are hoping that will allow the area in his mouth that is still healing to be better as the radiation doctor didn’t want to start treatment until his jaw bone exposure was healed to prevent jaw bone damage.

We are all very hopeful, and positive that with our village of prayer warriors, and very supportive and loving family and friends lifting us up that he will beat this cancer. We also have a very special blessing heading our way within the next 5 weeks. We struggled to conceive and as the powers at be have in their master plan we are expecting our little bundle of joy that we prayed and tried so hard to get to be earth side with us in the midst of his most trying times. This silver lining and little miracle will be a beacon of light, hope and love for him to see his way through these unexpected, dark and difficult times. And if anyone feels inclined or moved to send some good vibes, love, well wishes or donations his way it would be most appreciated. We will keep loved ones updated through a caring bridges site also.

Happy Holidays and Thank you to all who have been so supportive!

May god’s blessings, light and love be with you all!