Holly Roberson has choroidal melanoma and is treated with radiation plaque therapy at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC. She is married and the mother to three kids ages 16, 14 and 8. The Eye on Grace Foundation has sponsored three trips for Holly so far.

Holly says the support from Eye on Grace has allowed her family to keep some sense of normalcy during her treatment. It also makes it possible for her to see doctors who specialize in her diagnosis, which is key when it comes to treating rare cancers.

“It’s a different standard of care when you go to a doctor who understands ocular melanoma. The travel grant enables me to pursue the best quality of care. Thank you from the bottom of my heart … what Eye on Grace does is part of the life-saving work, along with the medicine. So much of the battle is mental, and Ashley’s story and the work of the Foundation give me hope,” Holly says.

Because ocular melanoma is so rare, the funding is not where it needs to be for a cure. “It’s not like breast cancer, where everyone is advocating for you. It’s rare and often misunderstood. People don’t know that it’s like until they walk in our shoes,” says Holly.

As a teacher, Holly is rallying her students to take part in the Eye Patch Challenge to help raise both awareness of the disease and funds for a cure.