Karl’s journey with Oropharyngeal Cancer

Hi, my name is Brittney and I am fundraising for my dad, Karl Howardson.

Many of you know my dad as a fun loving, easygoing guy who’s main mission in life has been taking care of my mom, Michelle after a devastating car accident left her with a brain injury at the young age of 21. My dad has been her sole caregiver since then. They will celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary in March.

Over the summer after some very concerning symptoms. A trip to the ER changed our life for the foreseeable future. After many tests and biopsies, my dad was diagnosed with stage 4 Oropharyngeal Cancer. To save you a google search, that means head and neck cancer or throat cancer. Obviously this was devastating news. But like all the hard things in life, my dad faced this head on.

After meeting with numerous doctors and specialists. We were given a plan for treatment. Back in October my dad started his journey of 9 weeks of intense chemotherapy. Which lead to hospitalization and numerous blood transfusions. It was tough, but he did it and the drs were so incredibly happy with how he responded to treatment. The tumors in his throat shrunk dramatically.

Today we started the next round of his treatment plan. This round will consist of 7 weeks of radiation, 5 days a week with chemo on Friday’s. Needless to say we have been warned that this is going to be rough. He has already had a feeding tube placed in preparation for him not being able to eat as they are targeting his neck and mouth. He was told today that if this doesn’t work there are no other options. Surgery is not possible.

This is where my family and I are asking for help. The added travel and medical expenses have the potential to add up dramatically. My goal would be to ease some of the burden my dad feels while asking this of his family both during and potentially after treatment. He is living on an incredibly fixed income, any sort of donation would be an absolute gift.

Thank You,

Brittney