Battling cancer, singer Matti Caspi asks public to help fund innovative treatments

Popular singer and songwriter Matti Caspi, who recently went public with his cancer diagnosis, launched a $1.5 million crowdfunding and media campaign on Monday to raise money for treatments he says are not included under the national healthcare system.

Caspi posted on his Facebook account that he is undergoing several treatments that have not been successful, and which have caused him significant pain and necessitated morphine.

He shared that most of the treatments are experimental and innovative therapies that aren’t covered by Israel’s national health system, and as a result, he finds himself in need of financial assistance to afford them.

In a Sunday interview with Channel 12’s news anchor Danny Kushmaro, who asked the 75-year-old Caspi how much strength he has to continue fighting the cancer, Caspi said he’s very stubborn.

“I’ll fight in every way possible, I’ll be stubborn to the end,” he said. “This hand,” pointing to his left hand, “doesn’t work. I can’t play. Not the guitar, and not the piano.”

Caspi wrote in his Facebook post that this is the first time that he has ever asked for help from his audience, as his health condition prevents him from playing and creating music to earn a living, while the severe pain he is experiencing is taking away his strength.

“I never thought I would end up in such a place,” wrote Caspi. “For 58 years, I’ve performed voluntarily for wounded soldiers, lifted spirits in communities and army bases, for the blind, at the Loewenstein Hospital for autistic children, for cancer patients.”

He said that he raised funds to buy equipment for hospitals and sang for patients who asked him to come to their homes.

Caspi reached out to Lehosheet Yad, the Lend A Hand foundation, for help, which then volunteered to support the singer in his fight for life with a crowdfunding campaign to help finance his medical treatments and provide financial support.