Helping John and Joan on their extended journey

John and Joan Berry’s cancer-journey update:

About 16 months ago you learned that John Berry, who had beaten back non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2013 – 2015, was diagnosed with the more challenging and very rare Gamma Delta T-Cell Lymphoma. Treatment of this second cancer was and remains very costly and complicated. After five months of harsh chemo treatments that made only minimal improvement, John became part of a clinical study of an expensive and new targeted biological agent that began to show significant progress on multiple key blood lab components. The agent, Copiktra, has allowed John to reach and sustain blood lab numbers needed for the transplant to be green-lighted once Covid retreats to safer levels.

In the period of Covid, stem cell transplants have been allowed only for those cancer patients with a prognosis of months. ICU bed availability and continuing infection spikes are just two factors that have bumped them further back in the transplant wait-queue than any of us ever imagined. John and Joan remain without a definite transplant date, but they stay strong and optimistic. They understand and accept the necessary delays to wait for a more optimal time.

And now, a stunning development adds difficulty to their long journey. This past week, John found out while his Medicare insurer has committed to pay their share of Copiktra prescriptions for the whole year, the Berrys are responsible for an astronomically high co-pay each month. Their out-of-pocket cost for this $40,000-a-month drug is now $4,000 a month! With this and many other expenses and challenges, they face an overwhelming emotional and financial burden.

John and Joan are reticent about this, but we are back to ask once more for your kindness and help. Thank you for what you have already given, and thank you if you can help once more. Please share this appeal with others who may know John and Joan. Their appreciation and gratitude flow out with this message. Thank you.

To read their full story, click here