“I’ve got some good and bad news to deliver.”
It’s not a promising way for Joshua Ray Walker to start an announcement, given the rising country singer’s diagnosis of colon cancer last year.
And sure enough, the news is devastating: After finishing chemotherapy and starting to feel stronger, Walker has learned the cancer has spread to his lungs.
“This unfortunately means my cancer will likely be re-staged to stage 4,” the 33-year-old Dallas artist said Monday in a statement.
“The odds have definitely shifted, but I’m not going to publish them here. It seems defeatist, and unnecessary. I’ll let you know what they were after I beat them.”
He’s waiting to get a lung biopsy and meet with a radiology oncologist. In the meantime, he’ll continue doing what he does best — performing live. He was planning on playing Monday night at the Kessler Theater.
His recurring shows at the Oak Cliff venue have been a financial lifeline during his health ordeal.
“If the Kessler hadn’t let me do this, or if I wasn’t physically able to do this, I have no idea how I’d be surviving financially right now,” he told Texas Monthly in June.
To that end, Walker launched a GoFundMe account Tuesday at 7 a.m. via his Instagram page. Donations “will allow me to focus exclusively on my health and relationships during this precious time. I thank everyone so much in advance for their continued love and support,” he said in the statement.
Last year, Walker opened arena shows for the Killers and performed his cover of Lizzo’s “Cuz I Love You” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. That tune was on his fourth album, What Is It Even?, his countrified spin on 11 pop and rock hits by female artists.
He plans to perform previously scheduled shows Oct. 5 at the State Fair of Texas and Nov. 21 at Texas Trust CU Theatre, opening for Dwight Yoakam. “I’ve always lived life to the fullest and I will continue to do so,” he said.
