Joshua Ray Walker Tells Fans His Cancer Has Spread, Launches GoFundMe

Texas country artist Joshua Ray Walker, known for songs like “Voices” and “Lot Lizard,” has launched a GoFundMe upon revealing that his 2023 cancer diagnosis had unexpectedly spread.

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Walker told fans late last year that he’d been diagnosed with colon cancer ; he subsequently underwent surgery in January before beginning chemotherapy. In a note shared on social media Tuesday, Sept. 10, Walker said that before he started chemo he was given a 90 percent chance of “having clear tests post treatment.” Those tests, however, revealed “multiple nodes of varying sizes” in both his lungs.

“So to find completely new growth[s] in a new organ was something for which I was not prepared,” Walker wrote. “This unfortunately means my cancer will likely be restaged to Stage 4. I will get a lung biopsy, and start radiation soon. I wish I had more information to share but I’m still waiting to meet with a radiology oncologist following my biopsy surgery.”

Walker’s new GoFundMe campaign will help him cover cost-of-living and out-of-pocket health expenses, and allow him to focus more on his health and family.  “As my treatment plans change, more medical needs are falling outside of my medical insurance coverage,” he explained on the campaign’s page. “I am doing my best to advocate for myself with my insurance provider, apply for financial aid, grants, and charities, but a lot of the time, the care needed is unexpected and time-sensitive.”

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In his note, Walker promised fans that he would keep fighting and share updates along the way. “The odds have definitely shifted,” he acknowledged, “but I’m not going to publish them here. It seems defeatist, and unnecessary. I’ll let you know what they were after I beat them. I’ve always lived life to the fullest and I will continue to do so.”

Walker released his most recent album, Thank You for Listening , back in February, with the record largely containing acoustic versions of previous released tunes. Last year, he dropped What Is It Even? , a covers record featuring songs by female artists, including his rendition of Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You.” In 2021, he put out See You Next Time , which landed at Number Six on Rolling Stone ’s list of the Best Country and Americana Albums of the year . In 2020, Rolling Stone p r a i s e d Walker as “country’s most fascinating young songwriter.”

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