Michael Brecker's health

**Shawn40** · July 10th, 2005, 05:49 PM

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the link and sorry for the new topic, I'm very busy these last time and often it's not possible for me to stay tuned on HOD...

Thanks again and I wish all the best for Mike.

cjbdrm · July 11th, 2005, 02:26 PM

Flarobstix,

Just wondering where you get your information.

**Flamaque** · July 12th, 2005, 02:54 AM

Michael is one of (if not THE) best Sax players of our generation.

I wish him well.

**peter c** · July 29th, 2005, 05:17 PM

OK. Billy just posted this:

Hello Everybody: a very personal friend of mine and a great musician is in need of help to save his life. His name is Michael Brecker. He and his brother, Randy have performed with me over the past 30 years and he has left an indellible mark on the music world to date. Below is a call from his family to anyone who can help him sort this physical problem out. Please check it out and see what you can do. Just contact the people at the end of the message or follow the directions below and no one has to know but you and them. I just hope and pray that one of us or someone out there has the right combination to see Michael through to a positive result and a clean bill of health.
Thanks in advance.

Boomer

Hopefully you already knew about this

Sent: Jul 28, 2005 1:06 PMa
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Mike Brecker needs your help.

Hello everyone --

Please do read the letter below from my friend Susan Brecker,
regarding Mike's serious medical condition. Please spread the word and
help if you can....

Love,
Nina Hennessey & Ray Marchica

FROM: Susan Brecker
SUBJECT: Michael Brecker needs your help.

Dear Family and Friends,

My husband, Michael Brecker, has been diagnosed with MDS
(myelodysplastic syndrome), and its critical that he undergoes a stem
cell transplant. The initial search for a donor (including Michael's
siblings and children) has not yet resulted in a suitable match.
Michael's doctors have told us that we need to immediately explore ALL
possible options. This involves getting as many people of a similar
genetic background to be tested.

There are some important points to understand concerning this process:

1. The screening involves a blood test only. It can be done very
quickly either at a marrow donation center or at a LOCAL LAB. The cost
is anywhere from $40 to $75 and your insurance may cover it. (In NYC,
you can call Frazier, at the NY Blood Bank, at 212-570-3441, and make
an appointment for HLA typing. It costs $40.00.) Check with your
local blood bank, or go to http://www.marrow.org to find the donor
center nearest you.

2. Your blood typing information can be posted on the international
registry, if you choose, where it would also be available to others in
need of a transplant. BEING ON THE REGISTRY DOESN'T MEAN YOU HAVE TO
DONATE, it just means that you may be ASKED to do so. You can take your
name off the registry at any time.

3. Should you be selected as a potential donor for Michael, please
understand that there have been tremendous advances in bone marrow
transplants and the term itself can be misleading. Bone marrow
donation is no more invasive than giving blood. Stem cells are simply
harvested from your blood and then transplanted to Michael.

4. A match for Michael would be most likely to come from those of Eastern
European Jewish descent. If you or anyone you know are in this category
please make a special effort to immediately get tested. Ultimately, you
would be doing something not just for Michael, but for so many more who
are in a similar situation as my husband.

5. You are now part of our internet-based drive for donor testing. If
everyone who receives this can motivate a bunch of their friends to get
tested, and those friends then forward this email to get their friends
to get tested, we will have rapidly expanded the pool of potential
donors. I urge all of you to get tested AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Any local blood center/Red Cross center can assist in organizing a
drive for Michael, although it would be desirable if you can get a
large group, e.g. a synagogue, to sponsor it. Should you have any
questions about this, please don't hesitate to get in touch with
Michael's management office at 212.302.9200 or [email protected].

Thank you so much for your love and support.

We are so grateful.

Susan xo

__________________________________________________ ____________________________
__________________________________________________ ____

Michael Brecker is 56 and an internationally renowned jazz musician. As
a result of his harmonic innovations, Michael is among the most studied
contemporary instrumentalists in music schools throughout the world
today. Michael has played on hundreds of albums with artists ranging
from Herbie Hancock to James Taylor, from Paul Simon to Frank Zappa to
Quincy Jones, Chet Baker and Bruce Springsteen---and on and on. As a
leader and co-leader of The Brecker Brothers (with Randy Brecker) and
Directions in Music (with Herbie Hancock and Roy Hargrove), Michael has
received 11 Grammy Awards ,more than any saxophonist, ever. For further
information, go to http://www.michaelbrecker.com

My New Web Page!!
http://home.earthlink.net/~gtorres/g...ectricbassist/

One Step Productions
818-762-1624
818-763-1955 fax
[email protected]
http://onestepproductions.com

**Flamaque** · July 29th, 2005, 06:11 PM

I for one am sending this off to everyone that maybe able to help.

Thanks for the update.

**S.P** · July 30th, 2005, 01:12 AM

this is on vinnie's main page also and everyone on vinnie's mailing list should have received a message from him with that attached.

I don't understand, are they trying to find a match in terms of blood type or something else?

how can we help from abroad, i don't think we can send blood back to the u.s.a can we?

[ July 29, 2005 10:17 PM: Message edited by: S.P ]

**Henry II** · July 30th, 2005, 01:32 AM

Originally posted by moosetication:
<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Henry II:
I wouldn't be surprised if his blood disease was caused by doctors to begin with.

Oh, don't be bloody stupid.<hr /></blockquote>And I'll say the same to you, Moose. Your comment is highly offensive and ignorant. Michael Brecker is suffering from a blood disease called myelodysplastic syndrome which invariably leads to lukemia. A primary cause of the disease is chemotherapy for cancer which leads to the secondary lukemia.

For those interested, a friend recently sent me the following email:

Michael is in hospital for a round of chemo and then a bone marrow transplant. Doctors remain optimistic and you can send cards or letters to Mike at the following address:

MICHAEL BRECKER
Room 1137
Sloan-Kettering Memorial Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021
USA

If you are going to express strong and offensive opinions about something, you should first be damn sure you know what the hell you are talking about, OK!

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out loud and remove all doubt." - Abraham Lincoln

[ July 30, 2005 01:08 PM: Message edited by: Henry II ]

**Klemme** · July 30th, 2005, 07:48 AM

The majority of jews in denmark are polish related, and i'm playing with a bunch of them. gonna make a call round today.

**moosetication** · August 7th, 2005, 10:39 PM

Originally posted by Henry II:
If you are going to express strong and offensive opinions about something, you should first be damn sure you know what the hell you are talking about, OK!

I am. You need to figure out the meaning of the word "primary."

Two quotes selected at random:

There is NO clear cause for the majority of MDS cases, which are called primary myelodysplastic syndromes. In SOME cases, however, MDS results from earlier cancer treatments, such as radiation and/or chemotherapy. This type of MDS is called secondary or treatment-related myelodysplastic syndrome. It is often seen in patients under the age of 30. The time span between cancer therapy and the development of MDS is usually three to six years, with a range of 1.5 to 13 years.

And...

Therapy-related MDS and AML (t-MDS/AML) are well-recognised THOUGH RARE complications following cytotoxic drug therapy for malignant and some non-malignant (mainly autoimmune) diseases.

**Henry II** · August 8th, 2005, 01:01 AM

You missed the point, Moose. Your response to my original post was highly offensive, assinine and uninformed. I don't need to figure out anything. You need to figure out that I cited chemotherapy induced MDS only as an example. It was a coincidence that MDS also happens to be what Michael Brecker is suffering from. I don't know if he has had chemotherapy in the past or some other treatment that could have caused MDS. MDS is a new disease. It is known that a significant number of victims contract it secondary to chemotherapy. It is therefore a drug induced disease. The fact that the remainder of the causes are, so far, unknown, does not change that. I have no doubt that they are also caused by "medicine." If there were natural causes of MDS, it wouldn' be a new disease.

Once again, you need to know what you are talking about before you start slamming people who do. I stand by my original statement. And, I think you are the one whose comments are "bloody stupid."

[ August 07, 2005 10:37 PM: Message edited by: Henry II ]

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