Matthew Schreindorfer receiving T-cell treatment after crowdfunding $637K
'Help Save Matthew' campaign sends Laval man with acute lymphoblastic leukemia to NYC for treatment
After successfully raising more than $637,000 to participate a last-ditch, potentially life-saving clinical trial, Matthew Schreindorfer is now at New York's Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center receiving an experimental T-cell treatment.
Schreindorfer and wife Katia Luciani started the online crowdfunding campaign just under a month ago after being told that the only shot he had at surviving his acute lymphoblastic leukemia would be to participate in a clinical trial that costs nearly a million dollars.
The illness, known by its acronym ALL, is an aggressive form of cancer that attacks white blood cells and inhibits cells from reproducing in the body.
Schreindorfer was diagnosed with ALL last August at the age of 24, shortly after returning from his honeymoon with Luciani. Since then, he has undergone all treatments available in Canada for someone with ALL.
When his health took a turn for the worse at the end of February, Luciani was able to negotiate a lower deposit so Schreindorfer could go to New York City, despite not raising the entire amount on the crowdfunding campaign.
"It's incredible to be here," said Luciani. "It feels safe in a way. We know this is where he is supposed to be and doing the only available treatment available to save his life."
In the meantime, they continue to try and raise the rest of the money.
On Feb. 25, Schreindorfer wrote:
"I’m now an outpatient and receiving chemotherapy treatments while my T-cells are being produced in the cell laboratory. I received my first treatment yesterday of a chemotherapy drug called Vincristine, which I have received in some of my past induction treatments.
"All is going well so far, and the side effects should be very tolerable for the next weeks. The sole purpose of this mild chemotherapy, in combination with the cortisone, is to keep the cancer under control until re-infusion time! All in all, I’m feeling good, and taking advantage of this time to relax and regain as much strength as I can."
The trial has so far had a 90 per cent success rate in putting patients into remission, Luciani said in early February.
She said the treatment involves modifying white blood cells in a lab for about 10 days and then re-injecting the cells into his body.