Meet the founders:
Our story begins with three blue eyed girls who chose to attend Auburn University in 1988 and
1989. Allyson Armistead Allred, Ashley Holmes McCrary and Juleigh Little Green all attended Auburn
between 1988-1993. Two of us lived in the same dorm and were in the same sorority. The other
lived in an adjacent dorm. Six years after graduating, Juleigh began having difficulty with her vision
when she was pregnant with her first child. She saw a doctor for almost a year being told her
symptoms were related to migraines. When her child was 6 weeks old and her symptoms had not
gone away, she saw an ophthalmologist and was told she had a tumor in her eye. She had to have her eye removed. A year
and a half later Allyson began having flashes of light and vision issues. After having her eye
examined it was discovered she had a 10mm tumor on her retina. Her doctors also recommended having her
eye removed. At this time all three ladies lived in Birmingham, Alabama. Ten years later, Ashley was
living in Collierville, TN, a suburb of Memphis. A friend noticed a black spot on her iris. Ashley was
having some blurred vision but had no other symptoms. After a second friend mentioned the “spot” she
had her eyes tested by an optometrist who sent her to an ophthalmologist. It was discovered that she
too had Ocular Melanoma. Further examination by an Ocular Oncologist revealed a Class II tumor.
The course of treatment… enucleation just like her two friends. At the time of Ashley’s diagnosis,
Allyson was being treated by a team of doctors at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Pennsylvania. When she
mentioned she now had another friend with this disease the doctors were amazed because this is
such a rare cancer. Shortly after this time two men were being treated by the team at Thomas Jefferson
who also were at Auburn University at the same time as the three women. The team at TJH began to
wonder if this was a unique grouping of people who went to Auburn and had this disease.
In 2015, Ashley and her family moved back to Auburn. In February, 2016 a friend of Susan Roberts
McWilliams reached out to the three young ladies on social media. Susan’s husband, Mark, who
was one of the men being treated at TJH had just passed away from metastasis of OM. The friend was
convinced that there could be a link between those who went to Auburn and had this cancer. He
asked if the three ladies would do a social media blitz to see if there were others. The ladies obliged and
the number grew over night. Over a dozen people self-reported that they had Ocular Melanoma and
attended Auburn. This is how the ladies met their green eyed friend, Lori Lee of Guntersville. Lori
had a freckle on her eye and was being seen by a doctor in her area. She later discovered that the freckle
had become a malignant tumor and she received treatment that would preserve her eye and shrink the
tumor. With more people coming forward with OM in Auburn, the researchers at Thomas
Jefferson became more intrigued. They set a date to come to Auburn to meet the community, interview OM
patients and discuss possible research efforts. In doing so the local media became involved and
once again as awareness increased, the number of people who had OM and went to Auburn grew to
almost 3 dozen. The ladies mentioned here became passionate at working with the team from
Thomas Jefferson Hospital (TJH) as to determine if there is a link between all these cases.
The team from TJH set a date to come to Auburn to meet the community, interview OM
patients and discuss possible research efforts. A facebook page called “Auburn Ocular Melanoma
Group” was established to communicate with those who had OM and had associations with AU.
Shortly after this meeting in February 2018 the group began to get National attention. The 4
women mentioned here have been interviewed on CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News, The
Today Show, Dr. Oz Show and were featured in People Magazine as well as a host of newspapers.
The National attention brought awareness about OM and also was seen by others who came
forward who had associations with AU and had OM. The number swelled to 50 people as of
December, 2018.
Following the initial meeting with doctors from TJH, the group was charged to raise money for the
research that could take place at Auburn University. They based the initial projections to be
around $135,000-$150,000 due to similar research which occurred on 18 patients in Huntersville,
NC. Senator Larry Stutts advocated for the group with the State trying to receive funding for the
research. The state declined. The University was also approached about helping with funding but
also declined. The “eye patch challenge” was established to coincide with National Eye Patch Day
which occurs in May. After 6 months the AU OM group has raised $63,000. See the details of the
“Eye Patch Challenge” on the menu section of this page.
After the February meeting with the team from TJH, the University chose Dr. Fred Kam who is the
Medical Director at Auburn University to be the liason between the University and the AU OM
Group. Concurrently, Dr. John Mason, Ocular Oncologist in Birmingham was chosen to head this
research project in collaboration with the researchers from Thomas Jefferson Hospital. Following
the People Article the University made a commitment to help fund the research by allocating
$50,000 for the Geospatial Analysis. The Alabama State Department of Health, under the
leadership of Justin George, obtained information on each patient and began the arduous task of
verifying each person’s diagnosis according to State Cancer Registries. In addition, Justin
analyzed if this group met the stringent definition of a “cluster.” After months of analysis it was
determined that this group did NOT meet the definition, however, the ADH and the University
both agreed it was still worth researching this “unique grouping of people.” This required the
University to verify that those on the list obtained from the State either went to Auburn, were
part of the faculty, or worked on campus. In January of 2019 the researchers reconvened in
Auburn to set the protocols, establish the cohort and determined the necessary funding needed to
accomplish the research. There will be three arms of research: a Geospatial analysis, genomic or
germline testing, and environmental testing. A group of 35 patients were chosen according to
certain restrictions. The cost of the research was determined to be approximately $8,000 per
patient at a total of $280,000-$300,000. The money raised from the Eye Patch challenge coupled
with the $50,000 allocated from the University is a far cry from the total needed to complete the
research project. An additional $190,000 is needed and efforts will be made to raise this money at
the local, State, and National levels. We hope you will consider being a part of this important
research and donate today.
To keep the fundraising simple and streamlined the Auburn Ocular Melanoma Group was
advised to “keep the funds close at hand” and the group decided to work with the Community Foundation of
East Alabama. The CFEA is a local non-profit (501c3) whose mission is to build and administer
endowment funds for philanthropic purposes focusing on identified community needs and
strengthening nonprofit organizations. In addition, a five-person task force will determine the allocation of these funds for
research purposes only. The CFEA charges 1% administrative fees. All other money collected goes
directly to research efforts in Auburn, Alabama. It is believed that the research here will impact
the entire OM community. And sticking with our vision… if we find a cause then potentially we can find
a cure or ways to prevent this devastating cancer.
If you wish to write a check you can mail your donation to CFEA and put in the “for” section Auburn Ocular Melanoma.
The mailing address for CFEA is:
P.O. Box 165. Opelika, Alabama 36803-0165
The physical address is: 1103 Glenn St.
Opelika, AL 36801.
Their phone number is 334-705-5138
Our story begins with three blue eyed girls who chose to attend Auburn University in 1988 and
1989. Allyson Armistead Allred, Ashley Holmes McCrary and Juleigh Little Green all attended Auburn
between 1988-1993. Two of us lived in the same dorm and were in the same sorority. The other
lived in an adjacent dorm. Six years after graduating, Juleigh began having difficulty with her vision
when she was pregnant with her first child. She saw a doctor for almost a year being told her
symptoms were related to migraines. When her child was 6 weeks old and her symptoms had not
gone away, she saw an ophthalmologist and was told she had a tumor in her eye. She had to have her eye removed. A year
and a half later Allyson began having flashes of light and vision issues. After having her eye
examined it was discovered she had a 10mm tumor on her retina. Her doctors also recommended having her
eye removed. At this time all three ladies lived in Birmingham, Alabama. Ten years later, Ashley was
living in Collierville, TN, a suburb of Memphis. A friend noticed a black spot on her iris. Ashley was
having some blurred vision but had no other symptoms. After a second friend mentioned the “spot” she
had her eyes tested by an optometrist who sent her to an ophthalmologist. It was discovered that she
too had Ocular Melanoma. Further examination by an Ocular Oncologist revealed a Class II tumor.
The course of treatment… enucleation just like her two friends. At the time of Ashley’s diagnosis,
Allyson was being treated by a team of doctors at Thomas Jefferson Hospital in Pennsylvania. When she
mentioned she now had another friend with this disease the doctors were amazed because this is
such a rare cancer. Shortly after this time two men were being treated by the team at Thomas Jefferson
who also were at Auburn University at the same time as the three women. The team at TJH began to
wonder if this was a unique grouping of people who went to Auburn and had this disease.
In 2015, Ashley and her family moved back to Auburn. In February, 2016 a friend of Susan Roberts
McWilliams reached out to the three young ladies on social media. Susan’s husband, Mark, who
was one of the men being treated at TJH had just passed away from metastasis of OM. The friend was
convinced that there could be a link between those who went to Auburn and had this cancer. He
asked if the three ladies would do a social media blitz to see if there were others. The ladies obliged and
the number grew over night. Over a dozen people self-reported that they had Ocular Melanoma and
attended Auburn. This is how the ladies met their green eyed friend, Lori Lee of Guntersville. Lori
had a freckle on her eye and was being seen by a doctor in her area. She later discovered that the freckle
had become a malignant tumor and she received treatment that would preserve her eye and shrink the
tumor. With more people coming forward with OM in Auburn, the researchers at Thomas
Jefferson became more intrigued. They set a date to come to Auburn to meet the community, interview OM
patients and discuss possible research efforts. In doing so the local media became involved and
once again as awareness increased, the number of people who had OM and went to Auburn grew to
almost 3 dozen. The ladies mentioned here became passionate at working with the team from
Thomas Jefferson Hospital (TJH) as to determine if there is a link between all these cases.
The team from TJH set a date to come to Auburn to meet the community, interview OM
patients and discuss possible research efforts. A facebook page called “Auburn Ocular Melanoma
Group” was established to communicate with those who had OM and had associations with AU.
Shortly after this meeting in February 2018 the group began to get National attention. The 4
women mentioned here have been interviewed on CBS This Morning, NBC Nightly News, The
Today Show, Dr. Oz Show and were featured in People Magazine as well as a host of newspapers.
The National attention brought awareness about OM and also was seen by others who came
forward who had associations with AU and had OM. The number swelled to 50 people as of
December, 2018.
Following the initial meeting with doctors from TJH, the group was charged to raise money for the
research that could take place at Auburn University. They based the initial projections to be
around $135,000-$150,000 due to similar research which occurred on 18 patients in Huntersville,
NC. Senator Larry Stutts advocated for the group with the State trying to receive funding for the
research. The state declined. The University was also approached about helping with funding but
also declined. The “eye patch challenge” was established to coincide with National Eye Patch Day
which occurs in May. After 6 months the AU OM group has raised $63,000. See the details of the
“Eye Patch Challenge” on the menu section of this page.
After the February meeting with the team from TJH, the University chose Dr. Fred Kam who is the
Medical Director at Auburn University to be the liason between the University and the AU OM
Group. Concurrently, Dr. John Mason, Ocular Oncologist in Birmingham was chosen to head this
research project in collaboration with the researchers from Thomas Jefferson Hospital. Following
the People Article the University made a commitment to help fund the research by allocating
$50,000 for the Geospatial Analysis. The Alabama State Department of Health, under the
leadership of Justin George, obtained information on each patient and began the arduous task of
verifying each person’s diagnosis according to State Cancer Registries. In addition, Justin
analyzed if this group met the stringent definition of a “cluster.” After months of analysis it was
determined that this group did NOT meet the definition, however, the ADH and the University
both agreed it was still worth researching this “unique grouping of people.” This required the
University to verify that those on the list obtained from the State either went to Auburn, were
part of the faculty, or worked on campus. In January of 2019 the researchers reconvened in
Auburn to set the protocols, establish the cohort and determined the necessary funding needed to
accomplish the research. There will be three arms of research: a Geospatial analysis, genomic or
germline testing, and environmental testing. A group of 35 patients were chosen according to
certain restrictions. The cost of the research was determined to be approximately $8,000 per
patient at a total of $280,000-$300,000. The money raised from the Eye Patch challenge coupled
with the $50,000 allocated from the University is a far cry from the total needed to complete the
research project. An additional $190,000 is needed and efforts will be made to raise this money at
the local, State, and National levels. We hope you will consider being a part of this important
research and donate today.
To keep the fundraising simple and streamlined the Auburn Ocular Melanoma Group was
advised to “keep the funds close at hand” and the group decided to work with the Community Foundation of
East Alabama. The CFEA is a local non-profit (501c3) whose mission is to build and administer
endowment funds for philanthropic purposes focusing on identified community needs and
strengthening nonprofit organizations. In addition, a five-person task force will determine the allocation of these funds for
research purposes only. The CFEA charges 1% administrative fees. All other money collected goes
directly to research efforts in Auburn, Alabama. It is believed that the research here will impact
the entire OM community. And sticking with our vision… if we find a cause then potentially we can find
a cure or ways to prevent this devastating cancer.
If you wish to write a check you can mail your donation to CFEA and put in the “for” section Auburn Ocular Melanoma.
The mailing address for CFEA is:
P.O. Box 165. Opelika, Alabama 36803-0165
The physical address is: 1103 Glenn St.
Opelika, AL 36801.
Their phone number is 334-705-5138