Keizer Police Officer Dan Carroll is battling Stage 3 esophageal cancer and friends in and outside of the Keizer Police Department are rallying to his side.
A GoFundMe (tinyurl.com/ofccarroll) campaign with a goal of $30,000 had reached $11,800 by press time and KPD is also selling support bracelets for $5 apiece.
“We’re trying to push it out as far and wide as we can,” said Officer Carrie Anderson. “Dan is such a great guy.”
The support bracelets are black with the words, “Fight hard K013.” K013 is Carroll’s callsign on the police radio frequency.
In early May, Carroll, a 14-year veteran of the Keizer police, was diagnosed with a level 3 tumor on his esophagus with cancer cells spreading to the lymph nodes. He is undergoing a series of radiation and chemotherapy treatments and surgery is planned.
Carroll has medical insurance, but his family is 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 Funds collected through GoFundMe will be placed into a trust and withdrawn to pay for medical expenses.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.
Esophageal cancer is more common among men than among women, according to the American Cancer society. The lifetime risk of esophageal cancer in the United States is about 1 in 132 in men and about 1 in 455 in women. 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.