Hello, Dustin here, and I am fundraising on behalf of my family and I. I have been diagnosed with throat cancer and will be going through a series of treatments including chemo, radiation and several surgeries. As I'm sure you all know, I am a self employed musician, which has always been my dream, but sadly it doesn't come with the best health care plan. While I do have insurance, there will be a significant amount of out-of-pocket expenses as well as some travel expenses to go get specialized care. All of that, coupled with having to take time off of work, is going to put me and my family under some financial stress. Thats what brings me here. I figure the less i stress about bills and expenses, the more I can focus on healing.

Some of the treatments I have to undergo are chemo and radiation, which will wreak havoc on my voice. This is going to make it almost impossible to host my weekly karaoke spots as well as singing with my bands, The Undercovers, and Grateful Getdown. Luckily, my beautiful and supportive wife, Cassandra, is stepping up and taking over my karaoke gigs, but my ability to perform is going to be pretty limited. Music is my life, the fact that i won't be able to perform for a spell is almost more depressing than having cancer. We're hoping that this campaign will help offset some of the income from gigs lost.

My next step is getting a PET scan from the knees up. They want to do this to see if my cancer has spread anywhere else in my body. After that i will be "staged" 1 thru 4, 4 being the worst. from there i will be scheduled for treatment. Because of where the cancer is, I will have to get a feeding tube put directly into my stomach. My throat will be stiff and the Dr. said eating will be very painful. I will also have a "valve" put into my chest so I can recieve my chemo treatments without having to get stuck with an I.V. every time.

The next year or so is going to be tough. But, I have a positive outlook and feel confidant that i will come through on the other side with a fresh new outlook on life. I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I am scared of what the future holds, but I've always tried to tackle things with a positive attitude and a "glass is half full" attitude.

Thank you everyone for your support. With your help, I'll be able to get through this and keep on doing what I love, making people happy with my music.