Donations pour in for local man with cancer

A Valley Stream couple said they were “humbled” by the sum of money donated for a potentially life-saving cancer treatment by more than 1,500 people in only four days — $120,000, the campaign’s goal.

“It’s truly heartwarming, and we’re so humbled by it,” said Meagan Robar, 29, of Valley Stream, whose boyfriend of four years, Joseph Verrelli, 32, was diagnosed with stage 4 skin cancer in December.

Robar set up a Gofundme.com webpage on Friday night to solicit donations for the expensive treatment that Verrelli’s doctors recommended. She shared the link on her Facebook page, where she has more than 2,200 friends. In 48 hours, she raised more than $75,000.

“That’s the power of social media,” Robar said.

It was at her prodding that Verrelli first visited a dermatologist in March 2014 to have a mole on his left collarbone removed. Four days later, they received a phone call: He had malignant melanoma.

He had surgery to remove the tumor in May, and a lymph node biopsy tested negative for melanoma.

The couple’s relief lasted until last Dec. 8, when they learned that the cancer had spread to Verrelli’s lungs. Another biopsy revealed worse news on March 15: The disease had progressed to stage 4 metastatic melanoma.

“That just completely shattered our whole world,” Robar said.

Verrelli’s treatment team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center recommended using one of the most up-to-date clinical trials available, a combination of the drugs Optivo and Yervoy. Both are FDA-approved, and Optivo is covered by Verrelli’s health insurance plan through his job with the Village of Valley Stream’s Parks Department.

The hospital agreed to pay for half of the $240,000 treatment, but his insurance company, EmblemHealth, denied coverage of the other half four days before the first treatment was to be administered.