Jeff Speakman diagnosed with throat cancer

A good friend of the show, @foghorne023 tweeted me today to let me know the sad news that Jeff Speakman, a firm favourite with The Doc and me, has been diagnosed with stage 4 throat cancer.

The following was the official announcement on his website:

To my friends, fans and most importantly my 5.0 family;

As many of you have heard by now I have been diagnosed with cancer of the throat by my doctors at City of Hope. This is a stage 4 tumor and has grown inside my esophagus and now effecting my vocal cords. Because of the proximity to my vocal cords surgery is not an option due to the possibility that my voice may be lost during surgery. It is for that reason that I have elected to move forward immediately with Chemo and Radiation therapy.
The good news here is that my doctors have told me that this is a very treatable type of cancer and the cure rate at this hospital is over 90%. Next week I will begin my chemo and the week after will begin a 6 week regimen of daily radiation treatment. My friends at Partell Pharmacy are treating me with supplements and nutrition to help in my recovery. Ironically this news came to me the same day that the next movie that I have been working on for the last 3 years got funded, more on that later.

Please stay in touch with my web site and face book page for further updates and if you are interested there will be information on how you can make a monetary gift to the Jeff Speakman Medical Fund. “I hold that the meaningfulness of one’s life can be measured by the accomplishment one makes to the common good”. Treat each other with love and respect and remember to never give up.

With Loving Respect,
Jeff Speakman

You can make donations to the Jeff Speakman medical fund here: http://www.jeffspeakman.com/shop/index.php/

and plans are ahead for @foghorne023 to do an online auction of signed Jeff Speakman items to add to the fund. We will let you know when that has been set up and where you can go to get your hands on some cool Speakman stuff and help the man get better.
He has been planning, over the last couple of years, to re-enter the film business so let's help make that happen so we can see him kicking ass for many years to come!
Last year we covered 3 films as part of SPEAKTEMBER - hear them here - http://dractionkickass.blogspot.com/2012/09/running-red-commentary_13.html