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Help Save Joan Kurland's Life

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MUSICIAN JOAN KURLAND IS FIGHTING FOR HER LIFE AND NEEDS YOUR HELP

Pianist/singer/songwriter Joan Kurland needs your help. After 7 months of seeing doctor after doctor, getting every test in the book, and being told that her symptoms were "nothing to worry about," she was finally diagnosed with late-stage ovarian cancer in January. She began chemotherapy in February at UCSD's Moores Cancer Center, had extensive surgery in April to remove her female organs and other cancerous spots, and is facing several more months of intensive chemo in an effort to wipe out the remaining, invisible cancer cells that were not removed by the surgery.

Joan has been too debilitated to teach or perform since December, and her savings have run out. She is down to 88 lbs. and spends most of her time going to doctor appointments, doing medical research, and attempting to rest and recover. She has no partner/significant other and has no family within 3000 miles, so she has been dealing with this nightmare mostly on her own.

Joan's insurance will not cover anything other than the standard treatments (chemo, surgery, radiation) within San Diego County. These "standard of care" protocols only offer about a 30% chance of 5-year survival, because they don't get at the root causes of the disease. The world of cancer treatment and research is exploding with new developments right now, many of which offer far better odds of survival than the dismal statistics offered by traditional medicine. In order for Joan to increase her chances of living more than a few years, she needs money to participate in one of the many promising clinical trials and treatments that are curing people but are not covered by her insurance.

Anyone who knows Joan knows she has eaten a remarkably healthy diet and exercised daily for decades, and the fact that she is now facing a life-threatening illness seems unfair at best and absurd at worst. You also know that her musical talents and unique sense of humor have brought joy, inspiration, and comfort to thousands of lucky listeners over the years. We, her friends, are asking you to please donate whatever you can so that Joan can continue to bless the world with her music and her special soul. Every dollar counts and will be gratefully used for life-saving medical treatments and, of course, for basic living expenses while she is unable to work. If you prefer to donate by cash or check, and save Joan the 9% service fee that the website takes, you may send it to:
Joan Kurland, PO Box 152310, San Diego, CA 92195

If you don't have the resources to contribute financially but would like to assist in another way, Joan could also use help with rides to the doctor, shopping, healthy food prep, housecleaning, and just plain companionship and support. Call her anytime at [phone redacted].

If you have already donated, thank you for your kindness and generosity. Feel free to do so again if the spirit moves you and/or to forward this email to anyone you think might be inclined to help a very special soul make it through this difficult time. Joan has said that one of the silver linings behind this enormous dark cloud has been the incredible support she has received from many individuals she didn't even know well, It appears that the world is chock-full of amazingly good people.

In gratitude and love,

Delene St. Clair and Lin Jakary,  
Friends of Joan and Fellow Musicians

Enjoy these free video clips of Joan's funny songs:

https://youtu.be/zDwcab9Rvik

https://youtu.be/roAz-PdnXkY










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Donations 

  • Frances Conwell
    • $50 
    • 8 yrs
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Organizer

Joan Kurland
Organizer
San Diego, CA

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