A father of two is waiting for the New York State Department of Financial Services to decide whether he’s allowed life-saving surgery for a rare disease.
Anthony Di Laura, 35, is suffering from Pseudomyxoma Peritonei, a disease that is attacking the organs in his abdomen, according to ABC 7. He was diagnosed shortly before finding out that he and his wife, Jackie Cucullo, were expecting their first baby together in 2020, the outlet continued.
After three surgeries to remove the diseased tissue, including his appendix and part of his stomach, Di Laura was told that it was found to be cancerous, so he underwent seven month of chemotherapy, Insider reported. Neither the surgeries nor the chemotherapy were successful in fighting the cancer and disease.
His doctors recommended that hospice may be his best option, ABC 7 continued. Cucullo found a doctor at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Anil Vaidya, in Ohio who successfully performed a multi-organ transplant procedure on a patient suffering from the same disease, Fox 59 reported.
Di Laura was approved for the surgery in April, but was told by his insurance company, Empire BlueCross BlueShield, that he’d been denied, ABC 7 continued. The insurance company claimed that the surgery was “investigational,” leading doctors at the clinic to write to Empire. (RELATED: Apparently It’s Easier To Get Bladder Surgery And Botox Than To Pee During Long Drives To The Hamptons)
“Medical studies do not show that this surgery is safe or will improve your short or long-term health if there has been this type of spread. We also got an opinion from a doctor outside of our health plan. This doctor treats people with your condition. This doctor agrees that medical studies do not show that this surgery is safe or will improve your short or long-term health,” Empire wrote in the denial letter to Di Laura, ABC 7 continued.
Empire denied the surgery three times, so Di Laura was forced to contact New York’s Department of Financial Services for help and is currently waiting for a response, ABC 7 reported. They’re expecting to hear a response in the coming days, the outlet noted.
The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for the surgery, which could cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000 if Di Laura is forced to pay out of pocket, ABC 7 noted.