Terry DuFoe's Cancer Battle & Medical Bills

My name is Tiffany DuFoe and I am fundraising for my father Terry DuFoe. Tons of people know us, either by name or through our various creative efforts. Most notably, we are the owners, operators, and hosts of Cult Radio A-Go-Go! and it's flagship radio show CRAGG Live. We've been running CRAGG for 20 years, from our house, for free (with no revenue from the station), as it is our passion project and we've always felt that the preservation of retro pop culture and the drive-in world is important for us and future generations who never got the chance to experience it. We have also been writers with Videoscope Magazine for about 3 decades with Terry (father) starting out with Joe Kane way back when and bringing me (Tiffany, the daughter) into the fold once I was old enough.

Terry's career in the entertainment industry started far before that, however. Terry started out in AM/FM broadcasting in 1977 on the terrestrial radio station WLUV out of Love's Park, Illinois. After that he went on to DJ local dances and worked as an event host and emcee. He even took a turn as a stage magician for a while. Then he began doing celebrity interviews and writing for various national magazines including Orbit, Onsat, Satellite Entertainment Guide, Outre, Filmfax, Sirens of Cinema, Draculina and Videoscope Magazines. In 2002, Terry took his career as a celebrity interviewer and combined it with his radio experience to launch Cult Radio A-Go-Go!, one of the first independent 24/7 streaming pop culture online radio stations.

Over the years, Terry has fought various illnesses. About 7 years ago he was diagnosed with diabetes, COPD and severe arthritis. This rendered him an oxygen patient and caused limited mobility (had to walk with a cane inside and use a wheelchair when leaving the house). Even through all of that, Terry kept going and kept donating his time to the radio show, interviewing celebs and often giving fans their chance to have personal interactions with the pop culture icons they love... all for free.

However, in April 2022 things took a sharp turn for the worse. Terry began feeling toxic and began growing weaker and weaker. Doctors told him that it was just the arthritis, diabetes and COPD getting worse/breaking down his body. We were told there was nothing we could do and to give up.

Finally Terry got to the point where he could not stand on his own. This is when Terry finally went to the ER to see what, if anything, could be done. This is when the real nightmare started. After various tests, CT scans, MRIs and biopsies, it was discovered that Terry has multiple masses/tumors in his throat/jaw, on his lungs and on his spine. One of the tumors in question was actually discovered 20 years ago but the incompetant doctors told Terry at the time that it was benign and nothing to worry about. In fact, it didn't need to be removed (or so they said). This tumor has now turned cancerous and spread causing additional tumors. Terry has been diagnosed with 2 forms of cancer: B-Cell lymphoma and paraganglioma.

Along the way though, Terry has been through the ringer. He was initially hospitalized at Palmdale Regional Medical Center... without permission they gave him Ativan which caused him to "go to sleep" for days on end, however when he went to sleep they failed to put his bipap mask on him despite them being ordered to do so. This was negligence on their part and only after I screamed at them that this wasn't normal did they finally give Terry a blood gas test because of his sleep apnea. Their negligence resulted in Terry's CO2 level being in the 140s (normal is 30-40) and him going into organ failure. They had to intubate him in order to save his life, but this caused him to be in a self induced coma (basically) for 2 weeks where he was non responsive. The doctors at Palmdale Regional told me there was no hope. In fact, a doctor there (Dr. Junaid D. Fitter) had the audacity to look at me and say "I've been trying to tell you your father is dying, I don't know which part of that you don't understand." Not only is that the worst bedside manner I've ever heard of, but the AUDACITY of someone to say something that crude to a family member in front of the patient STILL dumbfounds me. Finally, a (GOOD and decent) doctor from City of Hope consulted with me and managed (in 2 days) to get Terry transferred to USC Norris Cancer Center.

USC Norris was a Godsend. Terry came in to their ICU in critical condition. They put in a trach (taking out the 2 week old intubation tube), got his kidneys to recover, got his heart to recover, got him back to being alert/responsive, got his fever down, and started him on chemo treatments.

Unfortunately, because he was stable they moved him to another rehab facility to work on his mobility. This facility, Kindred Hospital in West Covina, was absolutely horrible. I witnessed Terry being neglected and abused as well as the same mistreatment of OTHER patients. Because Terry was stable healthwise and his only ongoing issues are the cancer, which he needs to continue his chemo outpatient treatments for, and his mobility issues, I was not about to see him abused in a non caring facility that should not be allowed to even call themselves a hospital.

As of Thursday July 21st, Terry signed himself out and I paid for a private medical transport out of pocket to bring him home. He is now home and I am caregiving for him 24/7 until we are able to get additional home health care. He is still recovering and still trying to work on his ability to stand/walk as he is currently still bedridden. He also needs to continue his chemo treatments which are scheduled for two days a month, consistently.

Terry asked me to put up this fundraiser because even though Terry is home, we still have a very long road. He still needs to do chemo for the lymphoma. He may need a surgery for the paraganglioma tumor. He still needs intensive physical therapy in the hopes he will someday be able to at least stand again on his own so he is not bedridden. All of these things and more need to happen before he can return to hosting CRAGG Live, which is what is keeping him going.

Also, not even counting the future trials and tribulations, we have already sunk $15,000+ from our own pockets into his care. The sad truth is that the medical industry and insurance companies JUST DO NOT CARE and they don't pay for many of the treatments, tools, equipment, and various things needed for patients to recover and have any kind of quality of life. For example, right now, Terry needs a hospital bed at our home in Lake Hughes, CA. I need to rent or buy one ASAP and find someone to help me get him into it as the bed delivery companies won't help. This will be another $300-$500 a month out of pocket.

$15k since April is quite a bit and we have no idea what else is in store for us, especially since the insurance company is currently trying to fight us on approving Terry's next chemo rounds.

Any donations are appreciated whether you are friend or a fan of any of the work we do in the entertainment industry. If you can't donate, please share this on your social channels to help spread the word about raising money and also the bad care / facilities Terry has experienced... and if you can't do either (donate or share), prayers and well wishes are always appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.