Desperate appeal for cancer-stricken soloist, 44

Desperate appeal for cancer-stricken soloist, 44

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norman lebrecht

February 09, 2021

Corinne Chapelle is a popular violinist on the international circuit. A graduate of the Menuhin School, she has given the Chinese premiere of the Samuel Barber violin concerto and has repsesented the US on various ceremonial occasions.

But now she needs our help.

In Corinne’s words: 

I have been diagnosed with cancer and am not a candidate for surgery or standard treatment due to the size and location of the tumour. I have been advised by my oncologist to seek targeted treatments which are available only in Germany and Switzerland…

My oncologist has suggested to foresee three rounds of targeted treatments over the course of one year, with a projected cost of £300,000. This sum is impossible for me to meet on my own, and I am asking for your help to reach my goal. …

I have a six year old daughter, Leila, whom I desperately want to watch grow up, blossom and reach her dreams.

The campaign starts tomorrow. Please help here if you can.

 

Comments

  • PHF says:

    300.000 pounds? Wow, may the entire slipped disc community of readers help and still miss 100.000… my best wishes for her in this difficult times.

    • Bill says:

      There are cancer treatments where the cost of the drug or treatment agent alone (which is only a fraction of the overall cost of treatment!) can be over half a million dollars. Throw in the month or more in hospital and lab charges you might rack up while having and recovering from that treatment and you’ll be asking where to sign up for “only” having to pay 300k!

      • BruceB says:

        I have insurance, but for awhile there my chemo treatments were — oh wait. I should explain something.

        — EXPLANATORY DIGRESSION—

        I just realized that people outside the US might not know how our system works. When you have insurance, you periodically get these frightening-looking things in the mail called “Explanation of Benefits” statements. They look like bills but they aren’t, quite. They show the price that your provider charged your insurance company (and would have charged you) for whatever services you received. Then it shows the price that your insurance company negotiated with the provider, followed by the “patient responsibility” showing how much you are now responsible for paying. The math doesn’t add up, since the insurance company negotiates pretty hard (and the provider probably submits an inflated number knowing it’s going to go way down), and then you are expected to pay some percentage of what’s left. For example the cost of my big surgery/ hospital stay in 2019 was $168,000 (not including the surgeon, anesthesiologist, or various other professional services); the negotiated amount was $36,000-plus; my “responsibility” was $9,000-plus.

        — END OF DIGRESSION —

        Anyway. Before that, my chemo treatments for several months, according to my “explanation of benefits” statements, were about $24,000 each (every 2 weeks for about 6 months)… and also 28 radiation treatments at $1,000 each — or rather, that’s what they would have cost. Nowadays my chemo treatments cost a relatively tame $10,000 each (1 1/2 years and expected to go on indefinitely), with a CT scan every 3 months (not sure – $1800 each?), plus occasional bouts of radiation to cook the pesky little spots that show up now and then on the scans. Oh — and I just started a new chemo drug today, and I don’t even know how much it costs yet. Fun!

        If you have insurance, your insurance company negotiates with the providers (doctor’s office, hospital, cancer clinic, whomever) for a lower price; if you don’t have insurance, you have to do the negotiating yourself. Apparently they are not nice about it — hence the high number of “medical bankruptcies” you read about happening in this country.

        So my point (which I was fairly sure I would arrive at eventually) is that, if I really had to pay all these prices, I would indeed be looking for the line Bill mentions that would let me pay “only” $300,000.

  • Banjo says:

    I feel sorry for her plight. Nevertheless, crowdsourcing for this purpose truly is the last hope of the despirate – if one starts here, where will it stop, as each case is likely just as deserving as the next?

  • Steve Neumann says:

    How much money has Leila’s father contributed to their daughter’s mother between childcare and medical bills?

    • Larry W says:

      Once you know, you can make up the difference.

    • Adam Fairmont says:

      Bachelorhood is clearly healthier for men in today’s anti-male climate especially if one is white.

      Why bother with the hassles of a relationship anymore? Men can’t or simply won’t put up with women’s BS any longer so they opt to leave nowadays. One look at the slovenly, feminist women’s marches is enough to quickly induce flaccidity, impotence or just going gay which is more fun for the youngsters. Note the venomous anger of women at these events in contrast with the revelry of gay men and women at pride parades.

      Everything today revolves around helpless women who are mostly single mothers of their own making. The darker you are, the more sympathy and programs one can leverage.

      The woman just gets extra benefits for popping out a kid anyway. Then she throws herself at another guy and another and another…so unladylike and common.

      There ARE great women worthy of solid relationships but they sure don’t act like those trashy leftys who are actually just bitter LEFTOVERS and REJECTS.

      My wife is a scientist. We met at an art symposium in the 90’s and she’s beautiful in every way and I respect and cherish her every day. We are still an accepting and open minded couple but Leftists left us over the years with their hormonal anger. They can’t hold a civil conversation anymore; always gratuitously offended about anything they see as positive.

      Most of these new college grads come out with inferiority complexes, are emotionally soft and gullible when it comes to education and news. The girls are high-strung egomaniacs as one can see on campuses and at marches, protests and riots. All are selfishly indoctrinated early on by the Democrats, ending up broke and alone or stuck with kids they can’t afford and don’t love who get dumped off somewhere.

      I hope Ms. Chapelle finds both health and happiness but includes the father of their child. It takes two strong adults to make and raise children. Why deprive the child of the love that both the man and woman shared in creating another human being?

      • Sharon says:

        With regard to marches, the reason that gay pride marches seem so festive as opposed to feminist marches is that the purpose of gay pride march is to celebrate sexuality; in a feminist march the purpose is to protest something, generally violence against women or the threat of losing abortion (which is also violence against women but that’s another story) rights.

        As far as Leila’s father is concerned, before, and for a while, while I was a nurse I worked in the field of child support enforcement, for a total of about 10 years.
        I know from my professional experience that the situation is frequently more complicated.

        Although I do not like to stereotype, the type of young woman to which Mr. Fairmont refers tends to have an abortion if she gets pregnant, in involved in lesbian relationships, or increasingly, is celibate.

        Incidentally, if throwing oneself at a variety of men, as Mr. Fairmont believes that young women do, is “unladylike”, is a sexually promiscuous man ungentlemanly?

        What I saw in my work in child support enforcement generally were women who were more traditional who became involved with men (and yes, many of them were married or divorced) who turned out to be irresponsible, not only with regard to their children, but in all areas of their lives.

        In the case of Chapelle, even if the couple were married and her husband was the most responsible man in the world, few insurances would pay for experimental treatments, especially in foreign countries. If her partner is in the music world also, which is likely, he may be broke in this era of Covid with little possibility of work.

        We are now entering the third generation of substantial numbers of children being raised in single parent families. The reasons for this are complex but I but I believe a lot of it is due to the brainwashing into selfishness (indulge yourself, do what makes you happy!) that is the goal of all mass media advertising, especially commercial TV.

        Anyway, the result is that very large numbers of people, both young people and now more and more not so young people, do not see an enduring marriage as a realistic possibility. One can even see this cynicism reflected in popular love songs, many of which express some hesitation or doubt, assume a relationship will not be permanent, or see “love” as transactional in one way or another. Why “wait until marriage” under such circumstances?

        It’s very sad.

      • Marie says:

        What on earth does this have to do with Corinne?please remove.It is quite disrespectful.

        • AnnaT says:

          Marie, I quite agree. Norman, consider removing these two comments, which at very best are poor sociology, and in any case are completely beside the point. Wishing Corinne all the very best, and will contribute to the GFM.

      • Jade Green says:

        I literally have no idea what you’re talking about and neither have you. Corinne has a solid long term partner who is the father of their child. Why are you making things up and being so heartless and aggressive?

    • Guest says:

      Leila’s father is by his wife and daughter’s side 24/7. Why are we human so quick to assume and make conclusions….

    • Wellwisher says:

      Every penny they could borrow and then more.

  • Nick says:

    The notion that treatment can only be found in two countries is, frankly, absurd. The United States has some of the finest healthcare in the world. MD Anderson in Texas is just one of the many exceptional treatment facilities. I am sorry for her diagnosis but she needs to do a lot more research into healthcare.

    • Bill says:

      Many cancers can be treated worldwide. She did say that she was not a candidate for standard treatment, which suggests she is possibly looking at some sort of experimental treatment. It is just a hunch, but I think her own oncologist most likely has a superior knowledge of her case than you do, and probably knows more about where experimental treatments for it can be found. And treatment at MDACC will not be inexpensive!

      “US healthcare is some of the finest in the world” may be true when cost is no object, but that is not the case here.

  • Ben says:

    Such nasty comments, why, do you feel better When you’re nasty?

  • Guest says:

    Justgiving link doesn’t work – it just leads to the Justgiving home page.

  • Help Corinne Chapelle says:

    The link for crowdfunding was updated and launched today- http://www.JustGiving.com/crowdfunding/help-corinne-chapelle

  • Inaustria says:

    I hope that those of you writing unkind comments will be met with more compassion than you are showing this young artist, if you too develop a rare and life-threatening illness.

  • Cristian Herki says:

    Madam, I will tell you what helped my father, when he was 73 years old, diagnosed with prostate cancer stage 3, now cancer zero after 4 years. If you didn’t start chemio, (has no effect together with chemio) make a kidney analysis, G6DP.If everything is ok, (on majority is) , you can start Vitamin C perfusions. Start with 5 -10 grams up to 50-60 grams, maybe even 80-100 grams if necessary . Very strict diet:NO red meat, NO sugar, NO white flover, processed food, add on your food turmeric wit black pepper , a lot of fresh juices. Take also the classical treatment to if theveryone doctors prescribed one. May God help you! Have faith!
    A violinist

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