Even those most jaded by crowdsourcing campaigns — whether from that acquaintance who wants you to pay for him to film a documentary about facial hair or your cousins looking for help to furnish their apartment — should take a look at Thomas Fekete's campaign on GoFundMe.
The Surfer Blood guitarist discovered in April that he had a rare form of cancer. With not much research available on the form of the disease that has afflicted him, doctors have recommended an alternative treatment that would not be covered by his insurance. To save his life, Fekete has reached out for donations to cover these medical expenses, which will come out to $150,000. Fortunately, people moved by Fekete's music and his plight have been generously contributing. As of Wednesday night, more than 2,200 donors had given more than $100,000. Here is the update his wife, Jessica Fekete, posted on Tuesday, September 1.
'Dear Friends,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all that you have contributed to this fund, and all of the love and support that you have sent our way. You all have given Thomas the ability to fight this awful disease, and we are forever grateful.
Because of your generosity, he is now going strong in his 16th week of chemotherapy treatment, and just last weekend, had the opportunity to travel with an amazing radiologist to Mexico City to undergo a very new and very successful procedure. You can read a little about this procedure in an article which features his radiologist here: http://immuno-oncologynews.com/2015/02/10/cryoablation-combined-with-intra-tumoral-injection-of-immunotherapeutic-drugs-offers-promising-outcomes/
Thomas had three tumors hit with cryoablation, as well as injected with immunotherapy drugs Opdivo and Yervoy. The procedure went well, and his doctors are excited to watch the progress over the next few months. In the meantime, he will continue his weekly chemotherapy and immune treatments with his doctor in Boca Raton.
During this recent procedure, they were able to extract some more tumor tissue samples, which we sent off to Weisenthal Cancer Group, who tested Thomas’ sarcoma tumors back in December and played an integral role in determining a treatment plan specific to his disease. They will now test the new tissue to see which adjustments in future treatment can or should be made.
We are so blessed to be able to take these huge steps in the road to Thomas’ health, but unfortunately, they came with an enormous price tag and no support from our insurance company. This last month has all but wiped out our funds, and the finish line is still not quite in sight. I am reaching out to you all to ask that you please continue to spread the word on Thomas’ battle. Every dollar makes such a difference and we need all the help we can get to keep him moving straight ahead on the path to recovery.
It goes without saying that Thomas is the most courageous, inspiring and beautiful soul, and I know that we are all watching him get closer to the victory that he deserves every single day.
All of my love and endless gratitude,
Jessica Fekete"
The GoFundMe campaign is still collecting donations, but If you are that anti-crowdfunding and wish to help Fekete out in a live musical setting, there are two benefit shows this weekend raising money. Both nights will have appearances by New York City band
Here are more details:
Friday at jump the shark
9 p.m.
810 NE Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale
https://www.facebook.com/events/1594593814137877/
Saturday at Kismet
7 p.m.
157 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach 33444
https://www.facebook.com/events/433271813524408/
