Officer Dan Carroll of the Keizer Police Department.
A Keizer police officer’s battle with esophageal cancer is only getting harder.
Officer Dan Carroll, a 14-year veteran of the Keizer Police Department (KPD), was initially diagnosed in May 2019, but a series of escalating headaches sent him back to Salem Hospital in December. Tests found that the cancer had entered his spinal fluid, said Windie Carroll, Dan’s wife.
Windie updated supporters on a GoFundMe page Saturday, Feb. 1.
“The doctors have no options to help him any longer here in Salem, but they did research on a cancer center in Seattle that does proton therapy which possibly could help,” Windie wrote.
While proton therapy was one option still on the table, the family plans were to stay in Salem for now.
The Keizer Police Association is running the GoFundMe campaign, it can be found at tinyurl.com/ofccarroll. More than $22,000 had been donated to cover Dan’s medical bills at press time. There are also a few support bracelets left at the KPD station.
The support bracelets are black with the words, “Fight hard K013.” K013 is Carroll’s callsign on the police radio frequency. They are $5 each.
After the initial diagnosis, further treatment discovered cancerous tissue in his shoulder, spine, hips, liver and stomach. Intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatment followed.
The Carroll family has medical insurance, but his family has already incurring significant out-of-pocket expenses. Funds collected through GoFundMe will be placed into a trust and withdrawn to pay for medical expenses. Any excess funds will be donated to cancer research.
Dan’s battle began with a level 3 tumor on his esophagus and cancer cells spreading to the lymph nodes. Esophageal cancer is more common among men than among women, according the American Cancer society website. The odds of surviving esophageal cancer have improved with more modern treatments, but it tends to be one of the tougher cancers to treat if it cannot be removed through surgery.