In Loving Memory of Ryan Forgach

Ryan was diagnosed with an incredibly aggressive form of ocular melanoma in 2018 and fought tirelessly for nearly six years to beat it. He had an incredible team of physicians that he was working with including Dr. Marlana Orlorff  and her team at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA and Dr. Jesse Keller with his team at Washington University and the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, MO. Without their care and dedication, Ryan would not have been able to enjoy those six years with the kind of passion for life that he did.

Ryan was an incredible son, brother, uncle, and friend to so many people that the impact of his loss can be seen by how many have shared their stories and touching tributes on his Facebook page. Since his diagnosis, he was an active part of the OM community, befriending a number of patients and supporting their journeys, writing a guest blog for the OM website, fundraising to support the foundation, and traveling to Washington DC to speak to Senators and Representatives on behalf of patients to support healthcare reform. These things are just a small representation of who Ryan was and how he will be remembered, but we feel it is important to recognize just how passionate and dedicated he was not just in his own battle, but the larger OM community overall.