Prayer, hope, friends

Doctors say Alexander Fedortchev has about a 50-50 chance of surviving. And that’s the good news.

The bad news is that he needs aggressive treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with a little over a month ago.

If he doesn’t get the treatment — and soon — his chances of survival decrease each day. But to get the treatment, he’ll need about $1 million.

That sort of money doesn’t come easy to anybody, let alone an uninsured Russian immigrant whose monetary mainstay usually revolves around performing acrobatic acts for a variety of circuses, which has included Cirque du Soleil.

On Thursday night, a benefit was held for the 40-year-old Laguna Beach resident Fedortchev, affectionately known as Sasha to those who know him well.

Dinner was $50.

The show, complete with juggling, dancing and acrobatic acts, was $20.

About 75 people showed up. The outpour on such short notice was testimony to the good friends Sasha has, although he wasn’t able to make it to the dinner and show. And yet it wasn’t nearly enough to put a dent in his mounting medical costs.

“We need so much more money to help him out,” said Jane Casanova, a friend who attended the dinner and show. “Sasha has such a wide circle of friends and everybody loves him so much. But unfortunately, we’re going to have to make some sort of appeal to the general public. That’s just the kind of health-care case we’re dealing with here.”

An acrobat since the age of 7, Fedortchev is the epitome of a circus athlete, as images of him show. He defies gravity in so many ways when performing stunts high up in the air on the rope. He’s pure muscle. It comes with the career.

But in the first week of January, Fedortchev developed a serious case of shortness of breath.

On Jan. 9, he checked himself into Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach and was later transferred to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, where he was immediately diagnosed with cancer.

As it turns out, there was a 4-inch tumor near his left lung, which was causing respiratory problems, said Daniel Bondarenko, a registered nurse and close friend who’s from the Ukraine.

Bondarenko, who made an appearance Thursday night, told the crowd that Sasha wanted him to tell everybody that while he wasn’t doing great, given the circumstances, he wasn’t doing terribly, either.

“He’s right there in the middle,” Bondarenko said. “He wanted all of you to know that. But most of all he knows he has a prayer and he knows that he has hope and he knows, most of all, that he has all of you. And he’s grateful for it. He’s grateful for his friends.”

Philip Solomon, another close friend who performed juggling acts at the charity, also addressed the audience at one point.

“Sasha may have a 50-50 chance, but we’re going to push him way over that mark and send him some great energy tonight,” said Solomon, who’s known Sasha for 12 years after traveling the world with him in a variety of circus acts.

But it was Polina Hryn, a very, very close friend who last saw Sasha in person, just hours before the show, where he paid her a visit at an art gallery in Laguna Beach. She said he looked like he’d lost a lot of weight but was otherwise as beautiful as ever.

“He’s such a strong guy,” she said. “He performed on New Year’s Eve. Then two days later, I talked to him and he wasn’t feeling very well. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, he’s struck with cancer. It came out of nowhere. We’ve all got to help him and pitch in. He’d do it if it was you. You know he would. That’s just the way he is.”

If you’d like to help, donate at www.sashafedortchev.com.

Also, for updates on his condition, visit www.caringbridge.org/ visit/sashafedortchev.