Josh's Fight for a Cancer free LIFE
Donation protected
This is a story no family wants to tell, but the truth is it's my brother, Josh Calhoun's reality right now. He has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Esophageal Cancer and now is in the fight of his life to beat this horrible disease. So we have to all put our pride aside and be an open book to tell our story and get support emotionally, physically, and especially financially that Josh and his family needs during this trying time.
Josh is a newlywed to his wonderful bride Becky. They professed their love and devotion to one another just this March. Little did they know that the vows they said would be put to the test so early in their marriage. In SICKNESS and in health..... He is in the sickness chapter of their story and needs so much support, prayers and encouragement that they can get. Josh (like many men of a household) do not like to ask for help. But being the main income of the household with a wife and three teenage girls is a big stress on him. Josh has not been able to work for already a few weeks and will be out of work for an undetermined amount of time moving forward with treatments. Also, unfortunately he is not covered by any health insurance either.
WHAT HAPPENED: This type of cancer is often overlooked as acid re flux for a while. This is what happened with Josh. He hasn't been able to hold anything down for at least 2-3 months, so essentially has been starving from the inside out, but kept being told it was re flux. This tumor has been growing for probably at least 6 months the doctors believe. Once he wasn't even able to swallow water he finally got some much needed answers and found it was a tumor and it had completely closed off his esophagus. It is located at the base of the esophagus where it connects to the stomach and the doctors were able to dilate it but only to 1cm (smaller than a ballpoint pen point). He has already spent a week in the hospital and has received a feeding tube directly into the stomach for added nutrition to help regain his strength that he lost. He needs to be healthier and not malnourished in order to handle the difficult treatment plan ahead.
TREATMENT: We have met with more doctors than I can count, but they all play very important roles in this treatment Josh is about to take on. He will travel to and from Phoebe Putney in Albany for his treatments that should start in the next couple of weeks. That in itself with fuel is a financial burden to the family. The treatment plan so far is for Josh to have radiation everyday (5 days a week) for 5 weeks straight. Also, once a week he will get chemotherapy along with the radiation. Once the doctors are satisfied with the results, there will be a high risk surgery to remove any and all areas around where the tumor is and reconnect the remaining part of the esophagus to the remaining portion of the stomach. Since this is a high risk specialty surgery Josh is having to travel to Augusta to meet with a surgical team that can handle this extreme case. Once again, not having medical insurance plays a mean hand in the game.
ANYTHING HELPS: Josh does not like to ask for help or to feel like a burden to anyone. But now is his time to be selfish and rely on a strong support system to help beat this thing. Anything and everything can help. Prayers can be said. Food can be delivered. Visits to lift spirits are always welcomed. Texts to just say hey go a long way. Donations in any amount can help tremendously towards gas for travel to and from treatments, food for the family during these long days, everyday life bills that pile up when he's not working, daily living expenses and medical bills, etc..... If you want to help and have other ideas please message me directly as well.
Thank you for all who have reached out already and have our family in your thoughts and prayers. It is appreciated more than you know and we need to stay a strong support community for Josh....he has a very LONG, HARD road ahead of him and this isn't a one person battle, he needs everyone to rally for him and he CAN and WILL beat this!! #cowhornstrong
Josh is a newlywed to his wonderful bride Becky. They professed their love and devotion to one another just this March. Little did they know that the vows they said would be put to the test so early in their marriage. In SICKNESS and in health..... He is in the sickness chapter of their story and needs so much support, prayers and encouragement that they can get. Josh (like many men of a household) do not like to ask for help. But being the main income of the household with a wife and three teenage girls is a big stress on him. Josh has not been able to work for already a few weeks and will be out of work for an undetermined amount of time moving forward with treatments. Also, unfortunately he is not covered by any health insurance either.
WHAT HAPPENED: This type of cancer is often overlooked as acid re flux for a while. This is what happened with Josh. He hasn't been able to hold anything down for at least 2-3 months, so essentially has been starving from the inside out, but kept being told it was re flux. This tumor has been growing for probably at least 6 months the doctors believe. Once he wasn't even able to swallow water he finally got some much needed answers and found it was a tumor and it had completely closed off his esophagus. It is located at the base of the esophagus where it connects to the stomach and the doctors were able to dilate it but only to 1cm (smaller than a ballpoint pen point). He has already spent a week in the hospital and has received a feeding tube directly into the stomach for added nutrition to help regain his strength that he lost. He needs to be healthier and not malnourished in order to handle the difficult treatment plan ahead.
TREATMENT: We have met with more doctors than I can count, but they all play very important roles in this treatment Josh is about to take on. He will travel to and from Phoebe Putney in Albany for his treatments that should start in the next couple of weeks. That in itself with fuel is a financial burden to the family. The treatment plan so far is for Josh to have radiation everyday (5 days a week) for 5 weeks straight. Also, once a week he will get chemotherapy along with the radiation. Once the doctors are satisfied with the results, there will be a high risk surgery to remove any and all areas around where the tumor is and reconnect the remaining part of the esophagus to the remaining portion of the stomach. Since this is a high risk specialty surgery Josh is having to travel to Augusta to meet with a surgical team that can handle this extreme case. Once again, not having medical insurance plays a mean hand in the game.
ANYTHING HELPS: Josh does not like to ask for help or to feel like a burden to anyone. But now is his time to be selfish and rely on a strong support system to help beat this thing. Anything and everything can help. Prayers can be said. Food can be delivered. Visits to lift spirits are always welcomed. Texts to just say hey go a long way. Donations in any amount can help tremendously towards gas for travel to and from treatments, food for the family during these long days, everyday life bills that pile up when he's not working, daily living expenses and medical bills, etc..... If you want to help and have other ideas please message me directly as well.
Thank you for all who have reached out already and have our family in your thoughts and prayers. It is appreciated more than you know and we need to stay a strong support community for Josh....he has a very LONG, HARD road ahead of him and this isn't a one person battle, he needs everyone to rally for him and he CAN and WILL beat this!! #cowhornstrong
Organizer
Felicia Calhoun Cammon
Organizer
Cordele, GA
