IGF chair Boyer seeks crowdfunding for cancer treatment

Brandon Boyer, the chairman of the Independent Games Festival, is raising money to help with the spiralling cost of his cancer treatment.

Boyer, who was appointed chairman of the IGF in 2010, was diagnosed with cancer in August last year. Initially, Boyer believed his health insurance policy - taken out shortly before his diagnosis - would cover the bulk of his medical costs.

"It wasn't until early this year that I dug further and realised what was actually happening: Humana [Boyer's insurance company] had decided at the end of the year to deny all of my claims and left me with a hundred-thousand dollars worth of bills."

The grounds for the denial of Boyer's insurance claim - his admission that he had suffered minor stomach aches prior to seeking medical help when the problem worsened - have since been addressed with the new Health Insurance Marketplace. However, his initial diagnosis fell five months before the the January 2014 start-date, so Boyer has found himself a victim of the small-print of his insurance policy.

"I had the misfortune of being self-employed and sick in America in 2013," he said.

So far, Boyer's GoFundMe page has received $77,000 in donations. To do the same, follow the link.