'Home Alone' star Ken Hudson Campbell has successful surgery for cancer after crowdfunding

Ken Hudson Campbell, known for his role as Santa in "Home Alone," crowdfunded his way to a successful cancer surgery after losing his SAG-AFTRA health insurance, according to his daughter.

Campbell's daughter Michaela organized a GoFundMe page on Dec. 1 ahead of the actor's planned "10-hour surgery" on Dec. 7. Campbell was diagnosed with cancer in October after "a tumor had elusively grown on the bottom of his mouth and it began encroaching on his teeth," his daughter wrote in the crowdfunding page description.

Campbell was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer that is not typically life-threatening, his daughter told People. It can spread to other parts of the body if left untreated, according to Mayo Clinic.

His fundraiser for surgery surpassed its goal of $100,000 with top donations from other Hollywood figures including Steve Carell, Yeardley Smith and "Big Bang Theory" co-creator Bill Prady.

Campbell's daughter later shared that his "cancer was removed successfully, and his jaw bone has been reconstructed from his fibula and attached."

"The day after surgery, they took him off the respirator. He is in very good condition. He's giving us hand signals at times, writing his thoughts down and trying his hardest to communicate with us, even though he cannot speak," she added. "He's been making small improvements in different ways as each day goes by."

During the surgery, "a large part of his jawbone" was set to be removed, "along with his lymph nodes, and part of his leg bone. Surgeons plan to reconstruct a new jaw for Ken from this leg bone, install it, and treat him with radiation. He will have a 6-month recovery period & Chemo may be needed afterwards as well," his daughter wrote.

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She added: "Even though physical therapy and speech therapy are covered, we are anticipating huge out-of-pocket costs for caregivers/skilled nursing, insurance premiums, medical equipment, transportation, dental implants, dentures  and who knows what else."

Before Campbell's recent surgery, the actor was getting routine checks until he lost his health insurance in January. In that time, his cancer became more aggressive, his daughter told People.

"He lost his health insurance with SAG and he had to stop going to the same doctors that he had been going to for a while about his mouth. And it discouraged him a little bit and he just didn't really check on it," she said. "I think it was really shocking for us because we thought he was taking care of it, at least I did. It was really hard for me to hear and I had a hard time emotionally."

In addition to "Home Alone," Campbell has had minor roles in "Groundhog Day," "Armageddon," "Coyote Ugly" and more. He is slated to voice a character named Boomer in Paramount+ series "Adventures in Wonder Park" in 2024, according to IMDb.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Home Alone' star Ken Hudson Campbell crowdfunds surgery for cancer