Hello, my name is Tammy Veronda, and I would like to introduce you to my husband Robert Veronda and tell you a little about him and his story.

Robert is 55 years old; we have been married for 30 years, have 5 adult children and 11 grandchildren, that Robert is extremely proud of. Robert is a Marine Corps Veteran and receives V.A. disability benefits due to some injuries he had sustained while in the military and also receives his healthcare from the V.A.

Our nightmare begins almost 3 years ago when Robert was misdiagnosed and improperly treated by his V.A. doctor. It was another 7 months and a new doctor from outside the V.A. to correctly diagnose Robert, which at this point was Stage 4 invasive nodular melanoma. This form of melanoma is the fastest growing and most deadly of all skin cancers. After Robert received his correct diagnosis, he wrote several letters to the Veterans Administration and was able to get the V.A. to transfer his cancer care to Providence St. John’s Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, which is a great place with wonderful doctors and staff. While at St. John’s Robert has undergone surgeries, 18 months of Immunotherapy, targeted injections, and is now taking targeted tumor blocking medication, but 2 ½ months ago, the day before Thanksgiving, Robert had a doctor’s appointment to go over his body scan to see if the medication he is taking is working. The Oncologist said the medication is working somewhat but not as good as we would like and eventually it will stop working altogether and that they had exhausted all their treatment options and Robert might want to consider a clinical trial if there is one available for his diagnosis, and to start looking right away because time is not on his side, and it can take months to get into trials if you meet all their criteria’s. Since that day we have frantically searched the internet, contacted doctors, clinical trial hospitals, and cancer research centers. Robert came across a promising treatment called TIL (Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes) therapy. This therapy has been studied in the U.S. for melanoma for more than 30 years, and with a success rate in clinical trials of a 25% cure rate and 50% chance of tumors stabilizing, shrinkage and no further tumor growth or progressing of the disease. These results are great news for people with melanoma, but TIL’s are only offered in the U.S. as a clinical trial while waiting for the FDA approval. Robert unfortunately was rejected as a candidate for the trial because they (drug manufacturers) made it a dual therapy trial and added an immunotherapy along with the TIL’s treatment, and if you have had an immunotherapy anytime during your cancer treatments, you are disqualified from that clinical trial.

However, Robert researched outside of the U.S. and found the TIL’s treatment at Sheba Hospital in Israel. Robert called them and had a consultation, and he sent his medical records for them to review. Well, yesterday February 7th we got the news that we really wanted to hear, that Robert is an excellent candidate for the TIL’s treatment, and they want to start the treatment immediately while they have the window of opportunity, due to the nature of this disease and how fast it grows. So, they would like to start treatment on the 25th of February. We were very unprepared for how fast this would happen, and thanks to the generosity of Robert’s close family members, they came together to cover the cost of $125,000 for the TIL’s treatment. But unfortunately, we are still in desperate need of what we estimate to be $50,000. This money will be used for travel expenses, we will have to fly to Israel twice, the first to begin treatment and again near the end of the treatment, also for lodging and living expenses for 6 to 8 weeks while in Israel receiving treatment, and medical services and procedures that the initial treatment cost does not include.

I want to apologize and thank you for taking the time to read such a long story, but wanted to convey what has happened in Robert’s life that has brought him to this point.

If you would like to help Robert and donate, every little bit helps get him closer to Israel for treatment. If you are not able to donate at this time, please share this page with your family and friends. Thank you, anything done on Robert’s behalf is very much appreciated.