Colleagues Rally to Help Brookhaven Officer Battling Cancer

BROOKHAVEN, GA -- This holiday, officers in Brookhaven are rallying around one of their own.

Police Officer Joel Coward is undergoing chemotherapy treatments to stem stomach cancer, according to a GoFundMe account set up in his behalf.

The account was created Monday and already has $18,000 of its $25,000 goal.

"In September of 2016 Joel noticed that he was unexpectedly losing weight at a rapid pace, as well as losing his appetite," the account, set up by the Brookhaven Police Foundation, says. "Upon consulting with a doctor, Joel received devastating news. His diagnosis was stage 3 stomach cancer. Doctors noticed a tumor the size of a grapefruit growing."

Coward, the father of a toddler, has decided to go on light duty rather than take time off from work. Doctors will attempt to remove the tumor through surgery sometime in 2017. At that time, Coward will be unable to work and he will have to go on disability.

Coward is a Navy veteran who became a police officer in 2008 when he joined the Gwinnett County Police Department. He was hired by Brookhaven in 2015.

"As a police officer, Joel has dedicated his career to protecting the communities he has served as well as being there for his fellow brothers and sisters in blue," his GoFundMe says.

The Brookhaven Police Foundation, which was formed last August to help the material needs of officers and their families, launched the GoFundMe campaign.

Image courtesy of Brookhaven Police Department