Glenn Campbell Cancer Recovery Fund
Donation protected
UPDATE, Jan. 6, 2019 - A few days ago I was declare "in remission" from cancer, which is as close as a doctor will get to calling me cured. I have returned to work and my usual wandering lifestyle. My only lingering symptom is weak legs, which prevent me from walking very far. Hopefully, this will improve over time, but even if it doesn't I'm feeling fine.
I've still got debts to pay, including about $8000 in medical bills, but I consider it manageable. If you are doing well yourself and want to help me with my past debts, feel free to donate, but I want to emphasize that the crisis has passed.
Below is the original description when I created this campaign on Sept. 1. By Sept. 20, all detectable cancer was gone. Chemotherapy continued for two more months to be sure the cancer was gone, and I needed another month to recover from the chemo. Now, as of January, I'm pretty much back to normal.
=============================================
OLD DESCRIPTION BELOW
On July 4, 2018, I was driving across Colorado in a small RV when I blacked out on the highway. Thankfully, the accident was not serious, and neither I or the RV was seriously damaged. I remained unconscious, however, and rescuers had to break a window to get me out. I woke up only in the ambulance heading for a hospital in Grand Junction.
At the hospital, CT scans of my head a torso revealed major metastasized cancer throughout my body, including a significant tumor in my brain behind my right eye. Upon learning this, I was prepared for the end. I planned to systematically shut down my creative projects and get ready to depart this mortal coil.
After two nights at the Grand Junction hospital, I returned to Boston, where my doctor and health insurance are. On July 12, I was admitted Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, where I began an intensive program of chemotherapy.
Today, 51 days into my chemotherapy (Sept. 1), my prospects are considerable better. MRI images show that the tumor in my right temporal lobe has shrunk to almost normal, and the other tumors in my body seem to be in retreat. Fully recovery isn't guaranteed, but at this point it seems the most likely scenario.
My cancer is aggressive form of lymphoma. It is the sort of cancer that is treated by chemotherapy, not surgery. Although the cancer has "metastasized", spreading throughout my body, the disease is treated systemically, so there is still a strong possibility of full recovery.
You may know me as the "Area 51 guy" who appeared in countless TV shows and news articles about the secret base north of Las Vegas. If you have heard the name "Area 51" it is due in part to my efforts in the 1990s to publicize the base and make it palatable to the mainstream media. I resumed this role in the period of 2005 to 2012, when I made several TV appearances in US and European media. I even played myself in a movie called "Area 51" from the director of "Paranormal Activity".
Until my crash in Colorado, I was a self-employed driver of cars and pets across North America. In addition to letting me see every part of the USA and Canada, this vocation provided the funds and frequent flyer miles to tour the world. I have visited 87 countries, including 10 in Africa, and I circumnavigated the globe in 2015.
At the same time, I have been a prolific writer, producing novels, philosophy books, essays and videos, none of which have made me much money but that might become more valuable with time.
This is my second funding campaign. The first was titled, "Glenn's Campbell Final Projects Fund," because at the time I created it I truly thought this was the end. I needed help shutting down my projects and preserving my online assets, as well as paying my final expenses. That campaign was successful, raising 75% of its $5000 goal. For an explanation of how the second campaign differs from the first, see https://www.facebook.com/notes/glenn-campbell/10161014247340171/
This campaign is more modest. I am hoping to raise $2000 to tide me over until I can return to my normal employment around Dec. 1. This date is arbitrary and depends on the outcome of my cancer treatment, but it seems realistic at present. (Update 23 Oct 2018: Previously, I was expecting to be released Nov. 1, but minor complications keep extending the date. Now it will be Dec. 1 at the earliest before I can return to full employment.)
Fortunately, my expenses are modest. Insurance pays nearly all of my medical expenses (after a $2500 deductible). Since I am deliberately homeless, I have no rent to pay and few fixed expenses. My main monthly expenses include cell phone, website fees, my monthly health insurance premium ($600) and my minimum credit card payments. I also have various other expenses that must be paid now; otherwise I'm trying to push everything into November (like the hospital bills for the $2500 deductible).
I am not the neediest cancer case. By my own accounts, I am having an enjoyable time as a cancer patient, seeing it more as a philosophical challenge than a catastrophe. I am writing a book about my experiences, centering on the unusual personality changes I have experienced as a result of my brain tumor. The book is called "Losing my Amygdala" and I am actively writing it even as I am being treated. For marketing purposes, the manuscript remains secret.
For more reasons you might want to donate to my fund, see the video from my previous campaign....
I've still got debts to pay, including about $8000 in medical bills, but I consider it manageable. If you are doing well yourself and want to help me with my past debts, feel free to donate, but I want to emphasize that the crisis has passed.
Below is the original description when I created this campaign on Sept. 1. By Sept. 20, all detectable cancer was gone. Chemotherapy continued for two more months to be sure the cancer was gone, and I needed another month to recover from the chemo. Now, as of January, I'm pretty much back to normal.
=============================================
OLD DESCRIPTION BELOW
On July 4, 2018, I was driving across Colorado in a small RV when I blacked out on the highway. Thankfully, the accident was not serious, and neither I or the RV was seriously damaged. I remained unconscious, however, and rescuers had to break a window to get me out. I woke up only in the ambulance heading for a hospital in Grand Junction.
At the hospital, CT scans of my head a torso revealed major metastasized cancer throughout my body, including a significant tumor in my brain behind my right eye. Upon learning this, I was prepared for the end. I planned to systematically shut down my creative projects and get ready to depart this mortal coil.
After two nights at the Grand Junction hospital, I returned to Boston, where my doctor and health insurance are. On July 12, I was admitted Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, where I began an intensive program of chemotherapy.
Today, 51 days into my chemotherapy (Sept. 1), my prospects are considerable better. MRI images show that the tumor in my right temporal lobe has shrunk to almost normal, and the other tumors in my body seem to be in retreat. Fully recovery isn't guaranteed, but at this point it seems the most likely scenario.
My cancer is aggressive form of lymphoma. It is the sort of cancer that is treated by chemotherapy, not surgery. Although the cancer has "metastasized", spreading throughout my body, the disease is treated systemically, so there is still a strong possibility of full recovery.
You may know me as the "Area 51 guy" who appeared in countless TV shows and news articles about the secret base north of Las Vegas. If you have heard the name "Area 51" it is due in part to my efforts in the 1990s to publicize the base and make it palatable to the mainstream media. I resumed this role in the period of 2005 to 2012, when I made several TV appearances in US and European media. I even played myself in a movie called "Area 51" from the director of "Paranormal Activity".
Until my crash in Colorado, I was a self-employed driver of cars and pets across North America. In addition to letting me see every part of the USA and Canada, this vocation provided the funds and frequent flyer miles to tour the world. I have visited 87 countries, including 10 in Africa, and I circumnavigated the globe in 2015.
At the same time, I have been a prolific writer, producing novels, philosophy books, essays and videos, none of which have made me much money but that might become more valuable with time.
This is my second funding campaign. The first was titled, "Glenn's Campbell Final Projects Fund," because at the time I created it I truly thought this was the end. I needed help shutting down my projects and preserving my online assets, as well as paying my final expenses. That campaign was successful, raising 75% of its $5000 goal. For an explanation of how the second campaign differs from the first, see https://www.facebook.com/notes/glenn-campbell/10161014247340171/
This campaign is more modest. I am hoping to raise $2000 to tide me over until I can return to my normal employment around Dec. 1. This date is arbitrary and depends on the outcome of my cancer treatment, but it seems realistic at present. (Update 23 Oct 2018: Previously, I was expecting to be released Nov. 1, but minor complications keep extending the date. Now it will be Dec. 1 at the earliest before I can return to full employment.)
Fortunately, my expenses are modest. Insurance pays nearly all of my medical expenses (after a $2500 deductible). Since I am deliberately homeless, I have no rent to pay and few fixed expenses. My main monthly expenses include cell phone, website fees, my monthly health insurance premium ($600) and my minimum credit card payments. I also have various other expenses that must be paid now; otherwise I'm trying to push everything into November (like the hospital bills for the $2500 deductible).
I am not the neediest cancer case. By my own accounts, I am having an enjoyable time as a cancer patient, seeing it more as a philosophical challenge than a catastrophe. I am writing a book about my experiences, centering on the unusual personality changes I have experienced as a result of my brain tumor. The book is called "Losing my Amygdala" and I am actively writing it even as I am being treated. For marketing purposes, the manuscript remains secret.
For more reasons you might want to donate to my fund, see the video from my previous campaign....
Organizer
Glenn Campbell
Organizer
Bedford, MA