Jeff Fleury - beating melanoma cancer together
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My name is Matt Fleury. My 51- year-old brother and best friend Jeff was diagnosed in October 2020 with stage 4 metastatic melanoma cancer. Jeff was one of the unlucky few who received a melanoma cancer diagnoses without an observable skin lesion. Jeff noticed a lump in his arm pit which resulted in a biopsy and a CT scan and then the unfortunate news.
The next steps were oncology consultations at U of M and Henry Ford, ultimately Jeff chose Henry Ford for his cancer treatment, primarily due to an opportunity to partake in a next generation immunotherapy treatment trial with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The standard of care immunotherapy treatments come with heavy side effects. The Regeneron trial offered the opportunity for similar or possibly better outcomes with potentially fewer side effects. Thankfully, to date, Jeff has avoided the most severe side effects from treatment but has not escaped them all. Fatigue and “brain fog” are two conditions that have been the most apparent thus far. Since treatments have started, Jeff has had another tumor biopsy and two hospital stays for acute stress disorder. For the many that have been touched by cancer, the impact of stress, anxiety, and depression are commonplace and issues that Jeff is actively battling.
The path for Jeff is a long one, the immunotherapy trial is scheduled for 24 months. He will receive treatments and scans throughout. At three months, Jeff’s scans showed a modest but positive 4-5% reduction in the target lesions. The fight is on! Better tomorrow than you were today is the goal.
I was somewhat reluctant to explore this GoFundMe medium but was told by many about the desire to help Jeff both emotionally and financially. For Jeff, a self-employed attorney, medical coverage exists but fighting cancer is expensive. Uncovered healthcare costs and associated prescription medications are very costly. Jeff made the difficult decision to turn over many of his active client cases to capable peers at Kostopoulos Rodriguez to ensure his clients were best served in the short term. Doing so allows Jeff to better manage the melanoma impact on his health, the side effects and to focus on treatment and healing. Pandemic aside, Jeff is limited in his ability to generate revenue and expenses are mounting.
As many of you know, Jeff’s primary passion are his two girls and son. Jeff’s goal is to continue to keep his three children and their very supporting mother on track and things as normal as possible. He doesn’t want his diagnosis and treatment path to negatively impact them more than it already has. Jeff is very active in youth sports and has positively influenced many with his Rochester Rays baseball organization. Jeff remains very active in leading the Rays and provides a positive focus for him.
My goals in establishing this platform are a twofold:
- Provide Jeff with an outpouring of emotional support. I believe, as this is shared, the many people that love Jeff will have an opportunity reach him collectively here.
- Financially, I hope to help remove an additional stressor for Jeff and support his numerous cancer and non-cancer related expenses over the next 18 months of treatments.
I will provide periodic updates on Jeff’s fight and successes here. Please keep Jeff and his family in your prayers. Please share this with your family and friends so we can all pray for and support Jeff together.
Sincerely and Thank you,
Matt Fleury
The next steps were oncology consultations at U of M and Henry Ford, ultimately Jeff chose Henry Ford for his cancer treatment, primarily due to an opportunity to partake in a next generation immunotherapy treatment trial with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The standard of care immunotherapy treatments come with heavy side effects. The Regeneron trial offered the opportunity for similar or possibly better outcomes with potentially fewer side effects. Thankfully, to date, Jeff has avoided the most severe side effects from treatment but has not escaped them all. Fatigue and “brain fog” are two conditions that have been the most apparent thus far. Since treatments have started, Jeff has had another tumor biopsy and two hospital stays for acute stress disorder. For the many that have been touched by cancer, the impact of stress, anxiety, and depression are commonplace and issues that Jeff is actively battling.
The path for Jeff is a long one, the immunotherapy trial is scheduled for 24 months. He will receive treatments and scans throughout. At three months, Jeff’s scans showed a modest but positive 4-5% reduction in the target lesions. The fight is on! Better tomorrow than you were today is the goal.
I was somewhat reluctant to explore this GoFundMe medium but was told by many about the desire to help Jeff both emotionally and financially. For Jeff, a self-employed attorney, medical coverage exists but fighting cancer is expensive. Uncovered healthcare costs and associated prescription medications are very costly. Jeff made the difficult decision to turn over many of his active client cases to capable peers at Kostopoulos Rodriguez to ensure his clients were best served in the short term. Doing so allows Jeff to better manage the melanoma impact on his health, the side effects and to focus on treatment and healing. Pandemic aside, Jeff is limited in his ability to generate revenue and expenses are mounting.
As many of you know, Jeff’s primary passion are his two girls and son. Jeff’s goal is to continue to keep his three children and their very supporting mother on track and things as normal as possible. He doesn’t want his diagnosis and treatment path to negatively impact them more than it already has. Jeff is very active in youth sports and has positively influenced many with his Rochester Rays baseball organization. Jeff remains very active in leading the Rays and provides a positive focus for him.
My goals in establishing this platform are a twofold:
- Provide Jeff with an outpouring of emotional support. I believe, as this is shared, the many people that love Jeff will have an opportunity reach him collectively here.
- Financially, I hope to help remove an additional stressor for Jeff and support his numerous cancer and non-cancer related expenses over the next 18 months of treatments.
I will provide periodic updates on Jeff’s fight and successes here. Please keep Jeff and his family in your prayers. Please share this with your family and friends so we can all pray for and support Jeff together.
Sincerely and Thank you,
Matt Fleury
Organizer
Matt Fleury
Organizer
Northville, MI