Fred Bennett was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) in October 10, 2010, at Lexington Medical Center. Needless to say this was shocking, life changing news for Fred and his family. His CML has been resistant to all treatment thus far and will ultimately require a bone marrow transplant once he is in remission. Fred currently uses medication for treatment, that has many nasty side effects (a enlarged spleen that had to be removed in February 2016 left him hospitalized for two weeks). The medicine is all trial and error, if one doesn't work they move onto the next. But as of now there is no new medication to try. Fred sees his oncologist at least once a month. So at this time with no new medications it's time for bone marrow transplant again. Being in the hospital takes it's toll on Fred and the next steps are becoming more uncertain and they are going "off script" to fight the cancer. The ultimate goal is to get him to remission so he can receive a bone marrow transplant which is a year long process of chemo, radiation, transplant, and recovery. But Fred is more than this, he is a loving spouse, step parent, granddad, son, brother, and friend. He is a strong, positive, silly, light-hearted, stubborn guy who refuses to give up and continues to fight like hell. He has remained a steady force to be reckoned with and has never let his faith in his doctors or himself waiver. His partner in crime Amanda, has been by his side every step of the way. Besides being his caregiver and advocate. At this point Fred and Amanda have been fortunate enough that their insurance has covered a majority of medical costs. And what costs have not been covered and additional burden they have been able to cover with some sacrifices. However, with each treatment failure the next steps become more uncertain, they also become more financially burdensome. Just to give you an example of what they are up against the drug he needs next is $14,147 a cycle (1 month) and they do not know how long he will be on it, it could be months. The cost coverage was denied by their insurance. They did however, receive coverage from the pharmaceutical company for this first round, but again there could be potentially more to come. Also, bone marrow transplants are not typically fully covered by insurance and costs can upwards of $900,000. With unpredictability comes unpredictable costs. Fred and Amanda want to thank everyone for their generosity and thoughtfulness that you all have shown. I know they are hesitant to ask for help but with Fred out of work indefinitely, uncertainty of future treatments, current bills, and specifically paying the out of pocket costs for the uncovered treatment and transplant we are hoping to raise funds to support them so they do not have to stress about financials and can solely focus on getting Fred healthy.
Thank you for your support and generosity... Amanda
Click "Also post on Facebook" when leaving a comment below to help spread this campaign.