Nabeel Qureshi's supporters raise nearly $250K for his cancer treatment

Supporters of Christian apologist Nabeel Qureshi have raised nearly $250,000 for his cancer treatment in less than two weeks since he launched the crowdfunding campaign.

Qureshi, who was diagnosed with stage IV stomach cancer last August, set up a GoFundMe account on May 19, shortly after he revealed that his chemotherapy treatment has not worked.

He explained in a YouTube video that all the money donated to the crowdfunding campaign will pay for his medical expenses, and any funds left over, should he die, will go to his wife and daughter.

The Christian apologist said that he has heard from numerous people who has offered to help him out financially even though he had been hesitant to accept money from other people.

"Over the past few days, so many people have asked to donate, even people who said, 'Nabeel, we understand you don't need it but we still want to help.' That made me reevaluate whether I should be opening up an avenue for people to be able to contribute if they want,'" Qureshi said. "That's when I realized that we actually do have needs that I haven't realized before," he added.

Qureshi noted that his health insurance plan is set to expire in 18 months and that his life insurance policy that he bought two months before he was diagnosed with cancer is now being questioned due to a two-year window of contestability.

He said that he received a letter from a lawyer, stating that "there may be some fraud" involved with his policy.

Qureshi expressed concern that his life insurance might not be able to support his wife and daughter if something were to happen to him. He further noted that he still does not have regular work, as there has been little progress in his treatment.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 1,797 donors have raised a total of $249,270 to Qureshi's GoFundMe page.

He explained that he had set the goal of $1 million for the crowdfunding campaign because he will not be able to anticipate the costs of his medical treatment.

"Should the worst happen, I hope to leave the remainder of these funds to my bride Michelle and my little daughter Ayah," he said.

Qureshi had also raised $11,450 through the crowdfunding site Patreon to fund his online ministry. He expressed his plans to release educational videos depending on how much people contribute to the campaign each month. "The more that people donate and contribute to the cause, the more teaching I can do," he said.