Join Joe's Corner: Support His Cancer Fight

Joe Needs People in His Corner for the Fight of His Life!

Joseph Burtner has always been a fighter and a teacher. He enlisted in the US Navy and completed a tour with honor. Since then, he has practiced, studied, and taught martial arts of all kinds, spreading the physical and psychological benefits of mastering one’s mind and body. Now, however, he is being challenged with the fight of his life.

On the morning of Sunday November 17th, Joe called. As normal as this was, I prattled on about my personal problems for around twenty minutes before I asked what was new with him. That was when he told me he had been diagnosed with cancer in his colon and liver.

Once I could speak again, I asked why he let me go on about my problems for so long, and he just said, “It seemed important to you.” This was about the Joest thing I had ever heard anyone say. As someone who had lived with him for about a decade, I know him to be one of the more generous and caring individuals there is. Now, I am humbly asking everyone to follow his example.

Joe and his doctors have a plan and are working together to ensure the best possible outcomes, but it will be a long road fraught with difficulty. His illness and treatment are taking a lot of energy from him, leaving him unable to work a full day most of the time and making it much harder to cover medical expenses. Therefore, anything you can give to help Joe would be appreciated beyond what words can express, and it would bring him closer to accessing the care he needs.

This is the first of many times I will be asking for donations on behalf of Joe. His situation is evolving, and navigating the healthcare system reveals new challenges lurking behind every corner. Today, I am specifically asking for help to cover radiation treatments, chemotherapy, and some other related medical costs, totaling $6,000.

Whether you are able to donate or not, expanding the reach of this campaign will also be a major help, and I encourage you to share Joe’s story in any space in which you feel it would be appropriate to do so.

Joe is a seriously tough guy, but he really needs our help now, and our love and support can give him the hope and strength he needs to face the many challenges that lie ahead in the fight of his life.

Thank you.