Medical Costs for Greg Dupree

Hi everyone,

Some of you may not personally know Greg Dupree, but those who do, know him as incredibly creative and talented, sweet and funny (in the snarkiest way), and fiercely loyal. He is an excellent teacher and mentor to young photographers (and this old one) and is always happy to share his knowledge. He wins the awards for best dad and most devoted husband. His family means everything to him, and he means everything to them.

For the past several months, Greg has been battling stage 3 throat cancer, including a tumor next to his voice box and a tumor on his right lymph node. It has been a difficult course of treatment with eight rounds of 4 1/2 hours of chemo each week, followed by 1 hour of immobilized masked radiation EVERY day for eight weeks. He has lost 30 pounds, some of his hair, his voice, and his taste. He has a scorched neck (Freddy Kruger style, as he likes to say), but he keeps fighting!

Greg and his family decided on this course of treatment after consulting several doctors, ultimately going off recommendations from the Mayo Clinic Cancer board and the board of UAB. This targeted proton therapy was recommended for organ preservation when tumors are near vital organs for younger patients. Unfortunately, their insurance company, Blue Cross, would only cover what they considered standard treatment, and Greg and his family had to pay out of pocket. We are dealing with a broken system when the quality of life is not considered in the course of treatment. Why even pay for insurance when they don't help you when you need it the most?

Many of you have asked how you can contribute financially to help remove some of this financial burden from Greg and his family, so we decided to set up this Go Fund Me page. Please donate if you can so Greg can focus on healing and getting back to normal life with his wife, Brett, and their two young boys, Foster and Fisher. Thank you in advance for coming together to support this incredible family. For more updates follow @gregdupree on instagram.