Matthew Schreindorfer, the Laval man who raised almost $1 million for experimental cancer treatment in New York three years ago, has died.
He was 27.
READ MORE: Matthew Schreindorfer lobbies for better cancer treatment in Quebec
Schreindorfer died at 8:40 p.m. Saturday.
“It’s so, so sad. He was such a fighter,” Global News was told.
The family confirmed the death on the Help Save Matthew Facebook page.
“He never ceased to smile, make jokes, stay active and make sure everybody around him was OK. A true superhero,” wrote Katia Luciani, his wife.
“Matt never gave up and fought until the absolute end.”
“He went with serenity, acceptance and happiness with everything he had accomplished in his short, but amazing life; feeling he had done what he needed to do. He was at peace with leaving us.”
His family was in the process of raising $700,000 for one last treatment in Seattle that they had hoped would save his life.
All of the money raised will be divided between research and comfort for patients who are in hospital.
READ MORE: Last chance: Matthew Schreindorfer’s family fundraises for treatment in Seattle
Schreindorfer was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) just two months after marrying Luciani, his high school sweetheart, in 2014.
After a bone-marrow transplant in Quebec in June 2015, Schreindorfer was getting ready to celebrate Christmas when he learned the cancer was back.
WATCH BELOW:
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Plea to Ellen DeGeneres to help save Matthew Schreindorfer -
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Angela Sirianni on helping Matthew Schreindorfer -
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Angela Sirianni reads emotional letter to Ellen DeGeneres -
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Matthew Schreindorfer hoping for second miracle -
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Matthew Schreindorfer: CAR-T cancer treatment update -
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CAR-T treatment comes to Quebec -
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Matthew Schreindorfer in remission -
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Matthew Schreindorfer shares sad news
“I was the luckiest person in the world to have shared a life with him and be loved by him for 11 and a half years,” she wrote on the Facebook page.
“We had the purest and strongest love, one that will live on forever.”
“He has changed my life and I hope to continue to make him proud every single day.”
READ MORE: ‘We had been waiting for so long’: Matthew Schreindorfer talks cancer, crowdfunding and his future
The National Institute of Health (NIH), where Schreindorfer most recently received treatment, discovered that his DNA had a rare genetic mutation, explaining why the leukemia had been non-responsive to standard therapies and why he kept relapsing after reaching remission.
“Not only did he fight a valiant battle but he was also on a mission to bring further treatments to Canada in order to save others,” she wrote.
The family has asked for privacy during the difficult time.
IN PHOTOS: Matthew Schreindorfer’s battle with cancer
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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