You hate to hear this. At the end of last year,
Joshua Ray Walker announced to his fans that he was being treated for colon cancer and was going to have to take a few months off while undergoing surgery and chemotherapy.
“The bad news is that I have been dealing with some health issues this year that have made my quality of life on the road and off pretty brutal lately. Even though my prognosis isn’t what I would have hoped for, it is a huge relief to have some answers and a course of action moving forward. Basically, my doctors have found a localized cancer in my colon, and I will be undergoing surgery to remove part of my colon on January 3rd. Luckily, we found it early, and it’s likely I’ll make a full recovery without further treatment. This is great news, but I will need to take a few months off after the surgery to recover.” Throughout his battle, Joshua has been playing some hometown shows and sharing updates with fans along the way:
And while things seemed to be going well, unfortunately he's hit another bump in the road. Joshua shared an update today, announcing that after 6 months of chemo, the cancer has now spread to his lungs and will likely be re-staged to stage 4 as he begins his next round of treatment. Obviously this setback isn't what anybody was hoping for, and it's going to force Joshua to take a step back from music so that he can focus on his health and kicking cancer's ass. So he's set up a GoFundMe for fans who want to help support him and his family on this journey. Here's his full statement:
"Hey y’all! Once again, I’ve got some good and bad news to deliver. The good news is that I’ve finished chemo treatment! It was extremely tough, and I want to thank y’all so much for supporting me through this experience. My body handled it reasonably well, and I’ve begun to rebuild my strength and immune system! The bad news is that upon the completion of tests to check on the status of my cancer post treatment, multiple nodes of varying sizes were found in both my lungs. Before I started chemo, I was told I had a 90% chance of having clear tests post treatment. So to find completely new growth in a new organ was something for which I was not prepared. 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. I will keep y’all as updated as possible, and I will continue to fight my hardest. The odds have definitely shifted, 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. When times are hard my instinct is to figure out how to survive financially. I work harder to ensure that me and my loved ones will have basic necessities. This trait has been very useful in life, but it makes it hard to rest when life’s difficulties aren’t solely monetary. I have a hard time asking for help, even when I believe it will be given happily. I’m launching a GoFundMe that will allow me to focus exclusively on my health and relationships during this precious time. I thank everyone so much in advance for their continued love and support." If you can help out, the GoFundMe can be found
HERE . https://www.instagram.com/p/C_vJG4dx9ek/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link Obviously having to have radiation on his lungs is a scary situation for a singer who depends on his voice, and just adds more stress to an already tough time. So it's nice to see Joshua reaching out to his fans for help when so many want to support him. All of us here at Whiskey Riff are behind him and will be ready to celebrate the day he gets to ring the bell after beating cancer. But until then, if you're able, let's do what we can to make this hard time a little easier for Joshua and his family. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YotR4BJf82k
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