Former Camp Lejeune Marine wins fight with VA over cancer

Former Marine wins fight with VA over cancer
By Donna Koehn
Published: Saturday, April 13, 2013

SARASOTA - An exuberant Tom Gervasi, 76, put his arms in the air, his fingers forming a “V for Victory.”

The former Marine learned Saturday — to his utter surprise — that his long, often bitter fight with his own government is done.

A letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed it: The cancer invading his bones was caused by his exposure to contaminated water as a young Marine at Camp Lejeune.

Tom is dying of breast cancer, so rare in men that only one in 1,000 will develop it in his lifetime.

The tale of his struggle, chockablock with emotional highs and lows, began when Elaine, his wife of 57 years, first spotted an unusual dimpling in Tom's left breast as he stood shirtless back in 2003.
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