Woods Family Expenses

The Woods Family needs your support so they can focus on getting the best care for Karen's husband of 32 years, Doug. Karen has always been a wonderful friend that would do anything to help a friend, family member, or stranger. Her many years of civil service, Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteer, Sexual Assault Victim's Advocate are just a few examples of how she continually puts others first and has the biggest heart.

Karen's husband has been recently diagnosed with cancer. This means lots of medical expenses, gas and parking for trips to Boston for his care, and the stress of fighting such a terrible diagnosis. If you can help to ease some of the financial burden on their family it would be very much appreciated.

A bit more of their story is below.

They recently moved to Massachusetts from Oklahoma this past year and were settling into their new home and location. Unfortunately, the last couple months have been rough. Doug started not feeling well and had difficulty eating solid food, then even liquids would not stay down. He was scheduled for an endoscopy January 4th, 2023. However, he was so sick and weak 2 days before Christmas and had fallen numerous times that Karen took him to the ER. They did an endoscopy at the ER which showed a food blockage in his esophagus that was caused by a large tumor obstructing flow. They removed the food and admitted him for more tests. Tests showed esophageal and gastric cancer. They followed up with oncology and had a plan to try chemo, radiation, and possible a resection surgery. Then on New Year's Eve, Doug fell at home and hit his head really hard so Karen took him back to the ER. The CT of his head showed one large and 2 small metastasized tumors in the brain causing pressure and leaking spinal fluid. He was transported to MGH Boston for emergency craniotomy to remove the large tumor. He spent 3 nights in the ICU and a few more on the neurology oncology floor. He is now home and getting along well with a cane. They will follow up next week (12 Jan) for a PET scan. Once they have the results of the PET scan they will make a plan with the Doctor. Doug has a long road ahead of him, but is upbeat and trying to stay positive.