Support Joe Burns' Battle Against Cancer

**Help My Dad Beat Cancer: Please Share and Support**

For my birthday this year, all I’m asking for is your help. Please share this fundraiser and help my dad, Joe Burns, fight cancer.

As some of you know, my dad was recently diagnosed with stage 4 oral squamous cell carcinoma. He faces a long road ahead, starting with a 16+ hour surgery in mid-January to remove the tumor and reconstruct his tongue and jaw. His treatment plan will also include a tracheostomy, feeding tube, daily radiation, and potentially chemotherapy.

What many of you don’t know is that tomorrow marks six months of sobriety for my dad. To say I’m proud of his hard work on his physical, emotional, and mental health would be an understatement. It’s incredibly difficult to see him face such a tough battle after all the progress he’s made. But I am committed to supporting him in any way I can—and I need your help to make it happen.

While we’re still working through the specifics, I’ve asked my dad to provide an overview of his current bills. Future costs will include travel for surgeries and treatments (flights, gas, hotels), home healthcare, hospital bills, copays, prescriptions, and more.

I apologize for the brief post. I plan to update you all as we move forward, but I wanted to get this started as soon as possible to give my dad some peace of mind ahead of his surgery. If you can, please share this and, if you know of any helpful resources in the Gainesville, FL area, let me know. I’m doing my best to balance my caregiving responsibilities here in NY and my own mental and physical health, so I appreciate your patience with me the past few months and in the future.

Thank you for your support in dad’s fight, it means more than you know.

Current expenses:

Rent: $900/month (including utilities)

Truck insurance: $85/month

Phone bill: $75/month

Groceries and essentials: $400/month