Donate to Jeff's Cancer Treatment Journey

My husband, Jeff, is 47 and battling stage 4 cancer (melanoma). The 5-year survival rate for this diagnosis is about 30% and he's now 3 years in.

Jeff's first symptom was a sore on his foot that wouldn't heal. He went to a doctor early on but didn't get a diagnosis for 11 months. By then, it had spread to lymph nodes in his thigh. After several surgeries and a year and a half of immunotherapy, he now has a tumor in his abdominal lymph nodes and multiple tumors in his lungs.

Jeff's medical team switched him to a new immunotherapy drug and wants him to have a cutting-edge (but grueling) treatment called TILs (tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes). His insurance company is refusing to cover either of them. The doctor's office found a way to get the immunotherapy drug at a big discount, but we're still being charged $15,500 for each monthly infusion. We recently got married and are adding him to my insurance, but that won't help pay for the two infusions he's already had, and there's no guarantee they'll cover anything.

The immunotherapy may buy him some time, but it's not a cure. Without the TILs therapy, he's not expected to survive for long. Not only is the treatment expensive (over half a million dollars), we'll have to spend a couple of months in Seattle because it's not available in Spokane, where we live. He'll be in the hospital for at least two weeks and will then have to stay close to the cancer center there for a significant amount of time for follow-up treatment. I'll need to take a leave of absence from work to take care of him for up to six weeks.

Since the cancer moved into his lungs, Jeff has been unable to work and his short-term disability has run out. My income can support us, but there's no way we can cover even his current bills, let alone the TILs and the stay in Seattle.

Any money we receive will go directly into his medical bills and related expenses. We're immensely grateful for any help you can provide!