BY KADIE TAYLOR
THE OBSERVER
EAST ALABAMA — After being diagnosed with ocular melanoma, Ashley McCrary was inspired to help others, so she founded the Eye on Grace Foundation to help fund travel for treatments and create a community among those with the rare eye cancer.
“A friend of mine had seen the spot on my eye, and I went to an eye doctor who sent me to another eye doctor who sent me to an ocular oncologist who told me that it was rare and that I’d have to have my eye removed, which they call a nucleation,” said McCrary. “I was 42 years old, had four kids at the time and had my eye removed. I found out that I had the worst genetic markers, so it wasn’t a matter of if my cancer would come back, but more like when would it come back.”
McCrary said she was inspired to begin helping others with ocular melanoma after she was challenged to consider her mental health when sitting on a panel for a support group.
“I didn’t think I had a problem with mental health — I’m a very positive person,” she said. “The young lady in charge of the conversation talked about how on our worst day, there’s always somebody worse off than we are. She also explained that when you’re focused so much on yourself, you can get anxious and depressed, and if you try to do something for someone else, oftentimes that would lift your spirit and help your mental health.”
McCrary said she realized she missed the rhythm and purpose of working at a job and began to explore new hobbies, like painting.
“I missed having a daily purpose, and I thought ‘I’m going to take up her advice and do some painting,’” she said. “I began coupling my paintings with inspirational art and inspirational Bible verses, then I would frame them. I began selling them locally in town, as well as online, and before you know it, it just took off. I thought that it would be a really neat way to be able to pay for people who had my same cancer to travel for treatment. So I decided, instead of making any money off of what I was selling, I would use all the proceeds to go to help people travel [for treatment].
“That’s why the foundation started in May of 2024, and initially it was just being fed by the art that we sold,” she said. “Since May of 2024, we’ve sponsored close to 300 trips for people. Since January this year, we’ve just totaled it up, we’ve sponsored $195,000 worth of travel grants for people. One of the things that we’re really proud of is that we’re one of the only organizations that pays for the patient to travel [along with] a caregiver.”
McCrary said the Eye on Grace Foundation is reaching people all around the country who have ocular melanoma in any phase of life.
“I had a conversation this morning with an 18-year-old who was just diagnosed,” she said. “The cancer has already spread to her liver, and she was having to make the decision today on whether or not to have her eggs harvested and frozen. We were able to tell her, ‘Yes, you can go and do this, and we’ll pay for your travel to get your eggs harvested, as well as the travel for you to be treated.’”
Along with providing the young woman with travel funding, McCrary said she also offered spiritual encouragement.
“She was just a wreck — she was a complete wreck,” McCrary said. “I told her that the God of the universe saw her and was able to provide for her through an organization that doesn’t know her at all. So today, that was a pretty special thing, to be able to help her set up her hotels and her travel, to be able to get her in front of the doctors that she needs to see.”
While helping others with ocular melanoma, McCrary is currently in treatment for the cancer herself.
“I’m still going through treatment,” she said. “I have cancer in my liver, lung and breasts. I go to Philadelphia once every five weeks for treatment, and then I have a weekly infusion here in Auburn. Unfortunately, I don’t have a good prognosis. I really shouldn’t even be alive today, but my prognosis gets worse the further out I am from initial diagnosis and yet I feel like I’m doing pretty well.”
With her prognosis, McCrary said she finds positivity in helping others through their own treatment and that creating a community for those with ocular melanoma is important because it is so rare.
“This gives me something really positive to focus on, and a community where we call this type of cancer an orphan cancer, because it’s so rare, the resources are so few,” she said.
McCrary said donations of any amount are welcome and it helps her foundation to continue to connect patients to treatment.
“We have people who donate sporadically and some people who donate monthly,” she said. “I always like to tell people that there are only a few people in the world who can give a lot, that there are a lot of people who give a little, and when a lot of people give a little, it makes a big difference.
“You can donate on our website — monthly donations or just a one-time donation can make a huge difference,” McCrary said. “In addition, we have a pickleball tournament coming up in November here in Auburn. The details will be coming out, but we’re looking for people to donate things to our silent auction.”
To learn more make a donation, visit www.eyeongracefoundation.org/ or Eye on Grace Foundation on Facebook.
