Help Jeremy Battle Brain Cancer

Linda Levine-Quackenbush and I have been best friends with Jeremy and his wife Rita for well over 35 years. We are heartbroken at how quickly cancer has attacked him and how it has devastated the entire family.

The short story: Jeremy is fighting for his life against Stage IV Glioblastoma, an extremely aggressive brain cancer.

Jeremy and Rita moved from Los Angeles to France several years ago. They came back to Los Angeles to spend time with their two sons over the holidays. Shortly after arriving in California, Jeremy had to undergo an emergency craniotomy and was diagnosed with brain cancer. Thus far, Jeremy’s travel insurance has denied coverage for the emergency stay and the surgery. Funds raised here will go to:

• Medical expenses and treatment not covered by insurance;

• Costs to fight the insurance company’s denials; and

• Travel expenses for him and the family visiting specialists and getting to be with him and help care for him in France

The longer story: Jeremy left France to spend Thanksgiving with his family in Los Angeles in late November. Upon his arrival in Los Angeles, Jeremy was very confused and disoriented. Extremely concerned, his family took him to the ER where tests were run and the doctors discovered a large mass on his brain. He had to have an emergency craniotomy immediately and was subsequently diagnosed with Glioblastoma.

Jeremy needed to return to France ASAP where he has French insurance that should cover his much needed radiation and chemotherapy. He and Rita recently traveled back to France, and now he needs constant 24/7 in-home care. Rita’s work is in commercial production as an independent contractor and often involves much travel. By nature, her work is intermittent. Unfortunately jobs have been scarce for the past few months. Although a job right now would surely be a blessing, it would also present even more challenges in terms of care for Jeremy.

We recently found out from Rita that the travel insurance Jeremy purchased has denied the hospital’s request for an $18,000 initial payment to partially cover some of the surgical expenses in California. That amount only included the surgeon’s fee and two follow-up oncologist appointments. As of this writing, Rita & Jeremy still have no idea what the additional expenses are going to be for his ER visit, added surgery costs, medications and the hospitalization itself. With the travel insurance company denying the first hospital costs so quickly, we anticipate there could easily be more denials in the future, which might require them to seek legal assistance – incurring even more expenses.

At this point, no one is sure exactly how much his insurance will cover – for his post-surgery treatments which would include, among other things radiation, chemotherapy, medical, home care and out-of-pocket expenses. In addition to this, there will certainly be travel costs to allow his sons and Rita, who never knows where her job may take her, to be there for him in France. There are SO many unknowns at this point as every day brings new and complicated challenges.

We are devastated for our friend and his family so anything that you can contribute would be greatly appreciated by the family. All monies will go directly to them to help cover the significant financial burdens they are facing now and will continue to face in the coming months.

Whether you spread the word of this fundraiser and/or contribute yourself, please know you are helping Jeremy and his family immensely. Thank you for your consideration, care, and support.

With love,

Tissa and Linda