Help B.P. LeGault Fight Cancer Hardship Fund

Introduction

My name is Ben Gault. I’m the son of artist B.P. LeGault (aka Brian Gault) and also the fundraising organizer for this campaign. I now live and work in New York City where I study music and other mediums of art. My father has always been very involved with my life and has always supported my creative endeavors. He and I also provided service to those in need like delivering food and supplies to people in Detroit and the surrounding cities for years. 

At this time, my father is the one who needs support while battling cancer. 

Most people know my father by his artist name B.P. LeGault. Whether you listen(ed) to his music, have seen him perform live, enjoyed his paintings or photography in art galleries, or attended an event he organized, you have experienced some of his endless creativity and passion for the arts in Detroit. 

He also enjoyed supporting his friends artistic endeavors by going to their musical performances, deejay sets, and gallery exhibitions throughout his entire life. 

Maybe you met him while he worked for the DDP at public events in downtown Detroit or when he was a hired photographer at local 5k and 10k runs including the Detroit Marathon in 2019. His involvement with the public arts has gone on for over 30 years. His entire adult life up until now. 

Since my father is know by numerous titles I will refer to him as Brian for the Back Story etc.

Back Story

Brian discovered lump in his neck September 2022. Between October and December he had an ultrasound, ct scan, and biopsy that resulted in the discovery of cancerous cells in the swollen lymph node tumor. His family doctor gave him the cancer positive news on December 24, 2022. 

In January another biopsy was done of a swollen tonsil that resulted in the discovery of a second cancerous tumor. That was followed up by a PET Scan that revealed anomalies in the chest. He will have another test mid February to determine if those anomalies are cancerous or not and then the treatment plan to address the cancer will begin.  

Diagnosis and treatment: Treatment options will be either surgery, radiation, chemotherapy and possibly a combination of them to combat the cancer. Treatment is currently estimated to be from 1-3 months not including healing time. There are also short and long term effects possible depending upon which treatments are administered.

2-17-23 Update. The Bronchoscopy results are in and there is no sign of cancer in Brian’s lungs! If there was the chemotherapy recommendation would be a higher dose. We are grateful for the news. Treatment should start by the end of February. We will add the date once it is scheduled. Yesterday the medical oncologist stated that Brian’s cancer is equivalent to stage 3 cancers due to it being regional and one of the tumors being so large. 

Financial Needs

Cancer takes a toll on the human body in many ways. In hindsight Brian began dealing with spontaneous fatigue as far back as June 2022 and dismissed it as stress until diagnosis and consulting with an oncologist that confirmed that fatigue was common with cancer. Brian is single and relies on his own income for survival. The fatigue and now occasional dizzy spells have resulted in a loss of work and quality of life on a day to day basis. The medical bills for testing are starting to come in and Brian is already falling behind with living expenses. The money raised from this fundraiser is to help him with accumulating medical costs, care during treatment, and living expenses during that time. If Venmo is preferred his account is @BP-LeGault-13

The goal is to get Brian back to good health so he can get back to doing the things he is most passionate about. Sharing creativity with the public and putting care into action. 

Thank you in advance for your kindness and support. 

*5-7-23 Decision to increase financial goal

After analyzing Brian’s costs 3/4 through his cancer treatments we have decided to increase the financial goal for this fundraiser. When we created it initially we had gotten our financial goal from looking at similar fundraisers and going with a lower number than some cancer fundraisers not really knowing what expenses were going to be over time. But now that we are months into this we realize Brian/BP still has a long road of recovery post treatment and that he could still greatly benefit from support. It is more than stressful for him to think about financial issues looming in the coming months when eating and walking alone are a chore. We also realize now he will miss a minimum of 6 months of work this year and need to find new employment and housing. That was not considered initially because we just didn’t know what was going to happen. We are crossing our fingers that insurance covers most of the medical costs because well over $100,000 is currently pending. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. 

 Thanks again for all of your support and being there for someone when they are in need.

Letters

 The love and support from family and friends in the past few weeks has been heart warming. I’ve known so many to be diagnosed with cancer and like them I didn’t see it coming. It turns your whole world upside down. I’m doing my best to remain positive and taking this journey one step at a time. I would like to thank my son Ben for arranging this and thank everyone else for their support. BP/Brian

 Hello, my name is Jay Harnish. I'm writing this on behalf of B.P. LeGault (aka Brian Gault). B.P. has been a close and supportive friend over the past decade. I've always known him to be exceptionally generous in volunteering his time and resources to help those in need, while also having near-constant involvement with supporting local art shows, fund-raisers, and other events. After all these years of being the ever-present supporter for so many, he now very much needs the support of the very communities he has helped to grow and thrive. Please help if you can. Any donation, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated. B.P. has a long road ahead, and I'm confident that if you're reading this, you also want to see him back in action as soon as possible. 

Sincere thanks, Jay

 I’ve been very close friends with B.P. LeGault for nearly 40 years. He’s always been there for me and so many others. The kind of person who truly deserves a hand in this situation. Please help if you can. 

Rachel Taylor