For those who don’t know me, my name is Jessica, and I’m here to share the Carr Story in hopes it will bring some hope, light, comfort, and stability as Travis fights Stage IV Cancer.

As I try to find the words to start this story, I can’t seem to find a place to start, so I will start from the beginning…

Lindsay and Trav started dating back in 2003 while they were both still in high school (typical high school sweethearts). When Travis proposed to Lindsay in 2006, it was a surprise to everyone… even me. To say family and friends had reservations about them ‘being too young to get married’ or that ‘they haven’t experienced life enough yet’ and that ‘it wasn’t a good idea’ would be an understatement.

But they didn’t care, and if you know anything about Travis and Lindsay, you can’t help but know now what they knew back then: that they were made for each other.

In July of 2007, I stood as Lindsay’s Maid of Honor and watched her say ‘I do’ to her soulmate and her best friend. A memory I am so honored to have shared with them and a memory I still to this day hold very close to my heart.

Shortly after they enjoyed a few years of married life, they welcomed a beautiful baby boy named Silas in 2011, and again little Deklan in 2014.

I wish I could continue this story letting you all know what an amazing, beautiful life it’s been for the four of them, but that’s not the reality… it’s not their reality.

The reality is cancer.

In May of 2021, Travis found out that he had colon cancer, stage IV, with about 60% of his liver covered in tumors of all shapes and sizes. The doctors told him he was unlikely to ever become a surgical candidate, and that he’d probably have a year or two left being so advanced. Since then, Travis has defied his prognosis, having been through 3 major surgeries to remove tumors and affected organs! He’s also had many planned and unplanned medical excursions, including an emergency appendectomy while on chemo, multiple ER visits addressing surgical complications, and somewhere north of 60 rounds of chemo/immunotherapies.

Unfortunately, late-stage cancer often hides and comes back when conditions allow for it. The cancer is now in his lungs, back in his liver, and in his omentum (which, if you don’t know, is kind of like a fatty lump of tissue between his liver and diaphragm) and he is now about to start a new promising immunotherapy trial at UCSD. Clinical trials are really his only hope at survival, as the standard of care cancer treatments would likely stop working within a year or two.

This is the truth, and the truth hurts.

Trav has never been in remission from this because that doesn’t really happen with Stage IV cancer. He was NED (No Evidence of Disease) after his second liver resection for only 8 months before something started to grow again. Statistically, 14% of people live beyond 5 years when diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer like Travis’, and in 6 months he expects to cross that line (his words, not my own).

“I do believe that so long as I can continue receiving treatment through different studies, as well as being able to periodically reduce my tumor burden, I will live plenty longer. I am very fortunate to have had the response that has allowed surgeries and options for treatment because not everyone has that response, or the doctors/team available to achieve that.” -Travis Carr

Through countless treatments, hospital visits, time off work for both Lindsay and Trav, long nights of uncertainty, the unknown, and the dark possibility that there may come a day where Trav won’t be able to grow old with Lindsay, or watch his kids get married or have kids of their own; I can personally tell you that Travis has shown a resilience that inspires everyone around him. Including me. He is not ready to give up and neither are we.

However, over the last four and a half years, the medical bills have been stacking up. Future bills will come as well, and it’s becoming harder and harder to maintain the financial burden brought upon the Carr family by this disease.

I am reaching out to our community, friends, and anyone who has been touched by the Carr story to help support their journey. Every donation — no matter the size — will go directly toward medical expenses, transportation to treatments, and help ease the daily challenges they face.

If you’re unable to donate, sharing this page and keeping The Carr Family in your thoughts and prayers means just as much. Together, we can help bring hope, comfort, and stability during this difficult time.

I love you always, Carr family!!

Thank you for your love, kindness, and support.