Help Matt Fight Stage IV Cancer

On September 17, 2025, after two months of chasing what was thought to be just a small infection that began as a bump behind his ear, our family received news that we never thought we would face. My brother, Matt Murrell, was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic squamous cell carcinoma.

Since that day, Matt and his wife, Sydney, have been in a whirlwind of appointments, scans, and treatments, doing everything they can to find the best path forward. For the past several weeks, Matt has been undergoing immunotherapy, but on October 24, we learned that the tumor hasn’t responded the way doctors—or any of us—had hoped.

Doctors quickly moved forward with the next steps, and on October 30, Matt began his first round of chemotherapy. It’s a new chapter in a fight that has already tested him in ways most of us can’t imagine. The pain has been intense, but through it all, Matt’s faith has stayed strong and steady. As Sydney wrote in her first Caring Bridge post, “We truly feel that we’ve been given a covering of grace and faith that has carried us through every moment.”

If you know Matt, you know how deeply he loves being with people. Whether he’s serving with Daybreak Church, running an ultra-marathon, or simply making you laugh, he has a way of lifting up those around him. Now, it’s our turn to lift him.

This GoFundMe is to help ease some of the financial weight that comes with this season so Matt and Sydney can focus all their energy on his treatment, healing, and hope. Your support will go toward medical costs, travel for appointments, and daily living expenses with 3 young children as they navigate this journey together.

Our family has felt God’s presence through so many of you—through your prayers, your encouragement, and your kindness. It’s meant the world to us.

If you’d like to follow along with Matt’s journey, you can do so here:

Matt Murrell Runs on YouTube

Matt’s CaringBridge Site

Thank you for surrounding Matt—and our whole family—with so much love. We feel it.

With all my heart,

Laura Walking Eagle (Matt’s sister)

& all who love the Murrell family