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My name is Herman Kees Ronde (a.k.a. Case), and I write to you as a Challenge Aspen and Aspen Skiing Company, ski & snowboard instructor who is facing a personal medical journey that I hope you are able to help me overcome.

Firstly, I would like to give you some personal history so you have a better understanding of where my professional journey and involvement with people with disabilities has taken me. I have a deep passion for the mountains and because of this, I have been led down a path to helping people with disabilities to enjoy what I love and love to share, so much.

Soon after my first snowy mountain experience, I became entranced with "the mountain" and its lifestyle. Living in Winter Park at the time, which is the home of the National Sports Center for the Disabled and the US disabled ski team, it did not take long for disabled athletes to cross my tracks. These top athletes and the participants of the N.S.C.D. showed such great enthusiasm that I immediately gave up on my Dutch engineering career in order to pursue a career in teaching snow sports, with a focus on the disabled.

My passion for snow sports and its enthusiasts has taken me around the world for close to two winter-decades now.

Since then, I have self-funded my travels around the world, teaching others the art of adaptive skiing and snowboarding, and assisting programs like Challenge Aspen in Colorado, Ski Portillo, the Teleton Foundation and la Parva Instructors in Chile, and Desafio Bariloche in Argentina (to name a few).

Here are a few tales of my encounters (from around the world):

Very early in my adaptive career I was the assistant of an adaptive ski school in California. One of the instructors had problems with one teenage, autistic, student. This student wanted to jump wherever he could, or he would straight-line it down the hill. For safety reasons this instructor would tether him from the waist. On one particular day, I was the only one available to go out with him and started on a similar note, body tethers and all. After a few runs I figured out that he indeed really wanted to jump (with his skis) wherever he could. Although I was told to restrict the jumping (it will never stop, I tell ya), I let him "go nuts". It did not take more than about four or five hits on small natural terrain features, for me to see a change in the level of anxiety. Continuing to allow him to jump, I noticed that he would listen to ski instructions/commands, unlike he'd ever done before. A few (jumping) Saturdays had passed and my student and I started to get to understand each other more and more.

One Saturday we stood at the top of a green run and I decided to release him from the waist tethers, since he had shown great form and attitude. Next thing I know my student races straight to a small roller. He gets less than one foot of air, stops, turns around, looks at me eyes aglow and grinning ear to ear, checks the jump and landing, looks at me one more time with that unforgettable "thank you, I did that all alone" smile from ear to ear, turns around and takes off, like Herman Mayer, straight line, down to the lodge. Immediately I am thinking, oh no, oh no, please dear God, do not let him crash (or worse). I finally caught up with him in the cafeteria, where he had already (tackled and) told his "greatest ever" experience to his school teacher. We went out on the slopes many Saturdays after that and as it turned out, in this case, jumping and setting him free (with boundaries) was the "best day ever" that had happened to him.

In 2005, a team from Challenge Aspen traveled to Ski Portillo, Chile and La Parva, Chile and Bariloche, Argentina to train teaching staff the art of adaptive ski instructing. We also handed out over 200 wheelchairs as part of the mobility project. This successful project runs on donations and on the participation of volunteers who pay their own way.

It was during this project, in a rural area over two hours south of Bariloche, that I encountered people riding their bare rims (for years). Some had not left their house for over five years because they did not have a wheelchair or their village had one wheelchair for more than five people. I cannot describe the utter joy and gratitude displayed, while fitting chairs, with tears and all. Right at the moment of packing up for the day, a man appears in the doorway. He had seen the wheelchair/mobility project on TV, had taken his car and driven for hours in the hope to catch us setting people up with wheelchairs. I glanced over his chair and he tells me that he is a metalworker. Obviously, his chair had undergone numerous welding repairs and alterations. Proudly he shows me his car and the metal stick/hand controls, for clutch, brake and accelerator. All self/custom made and this system had already worked in several previously owned cars. We return back inside, were there were only a few wheelchairs leftover. Several adaptations later and this gentleman was able to put a brand new wheelchair in the back of his car. As we shook hands and said our goodbyes, I asked him how long he had used his previous chair. Twenty-five years he quietly answered. Believe me; I stood there on the roadside long after his cloud of dust had disappeared.

Working with the teaching staff of Portillo, during a week in which the "Teleton kids" come out to have their first snow/slide experience, is of a different caliber. All types of disabilities run the gamut and I had been asked to teach snowboarding to three amputees. One below the knee, with prosthesis, one with a whole leg prosthesis and one without arms, no prosthesis. All three children learned to snowboard solo at a phenomenal pace and during our week of snow fun, we attended a huge Chilean Asado (BBQ). It is there where the blond haired, blue eyed, six foot two, weighing two hundred pounds, oh so cool, snowboard instructor gets invited to a game of table tennis (=ping pong). I walked over to the corner of the yard and to my amazement; my opponent is no less than my "no arms" student. Can you already guess the outcome of the match? Indeed, I lost and by a long shot! I was certainly taught about a level playing field!

It has been a fantastic journey with mind boggling, humbling and odds-defying encounters, lifelong friendships and my passion for this lifestyle has not slowed down or disappointed me yet.

The successes I have seen in the lives of my students - beyond just skiing and snowboarding - have made me immensely proud and it is the personal fulfillment I receive from helping others that spurs me on season-after-season.

However, in order for me to continue creating "The Best Day Ever" I need your help.

Please let me explain what kind of -180 degree- turn I have encountered this past summer.

A summer of treatments

I went back home to the Netherlands in May after teaching the 2006-07 season in Aspen/Snowmass, my home base for the past 6 winters. I visited family and friends and slowly gained strength for another adaptive winter adventure in Las Leñas, Argentina. I was going to Las Leñas to help expand the adaptive program though the introduction of adaptive snowboarding, bringing in new equipment and teaching the instructors on how to better prepare for our demanding lessons. Close to my departure date, I noticed a small lump in my upper right leg. Knowing it would be better to have things investigated in Holland rather than later, in the Andes, I had myself tested at several hospitals. After a month of clinical tests the final diagnosis was melanoma level 4 (metastasized skin cancer).

I underwent surgery on my upper right leg in Holland and seventeen lymph nodes were removed. A biopsy showed that five lymph nodes had caught/trapped the cancer cells, however, one had exploded (opened up). While recovering from this surgery (with a clean bill of health) I went to a cancer specific hospital to find more advanced treatment. Several hospitals and laboratories rejected me, mainly because some oncologists deemed it appropriate to have more surgery immediately (without conducting any preliminary tests) and/or because melanoma (skin cancer) treatments have not yet proved successful in the Netherlands.

Because of my many world travels, I have kept in contact with a Chilean journalist, who after hearing about my medical ordeal researched alternative cures for the most aggressive type of cancer: melanoma. (When these cancer cells reach vital organs, a life expectancy is less than 1.5 years.)

This Chilean angel discovered that since 2001 a company called Oncobiomed has used progressive cancer therapy in Chile, with up to a 70% success rate. Oncobiomed's treatment is based on the manipulation and stimulation of the patient's own immune system and involves culturing of the patient's own cells, which are re-injected in order to cause an immunological response against the melanoma cancer cells.

After exhausting all available medical options in Holland, I booked a flight, set off for Chile, and underwent a treatment course of four "shots" of the Oncobiomed vaccine in four months. In between the first and second vaccine, I had an x-ray and Pet scan, which detected more growth. A second surgery, removing more lymph nodes and a hematoma cleanup from the previous Dutch surgery, was necessary. After the third vaccine, another x-ray and CT-scan found more growth in the abdominal region.

On a positive note, blood tests showed that my immune system (white blood cells) had increased about 35% in between vaccine number two and three. During the third operation, all lymph nodes, up to my kidney, have been removed. My appendix has also been removed in order to prevent future appendicitis and any further stresses on my immune system.

The fourth vaccine was given on October 22, 2007, and the medical team at Oncobiomed has now recommended an ongoing treatment plan of doubling the dose from four "shots" in one year, to eight within ten months. After this period, I will continue with an ongoing treatment of four vaccinations a year over a time span of five years. Oncobiomed believes deeply in this treatment plan, mainly because I am a young, strong and healthy individual with outstanding survival opportunities.

The core of the matter is that I have sponsored myself throughout this treatment by taking out a personal loan and funding from family. These financial resources have now been exhausted and costs are "shooting through the roof" mainly due to the doubling up of the vaccine schedule and the cost of flights to and from Chile during my winter work schedule. In dollar terms, I need US$20,000 within the next six months and about US$90,000 over the course of the next five years. Definitely not a small feat to achieve for an adaptive ski instructor!

This brings me to my request of you - are you (or an organization you know), able to provide me with financial assistance through my treatment? Your generosity would be much appreciated! Besides financial assistance, I could also use Frequent Flyer Miles from Delta, American Airlines or Continental, in order to reduce the cost of travel to and from Santiago.

My friends and colleagues at Challenge Aspen and the Aspen Skiing Company have been wonderfully supportive during my treatment and again now, by supporting me in my quest for financial support.

A very generous anonymous donor has agreed to match all donations up to $3000. So that means for every dollar that you contribute I will receive $2.

I have set up a bank account at Alpine Bank that you can deposit directly into.

Please make any checks out to;
"Melanoma Fighting with Case"
Alpine Bank
PO Box 5490
Snowmass Village, CO 81615

Please contact me at any time:

H.K. "Case" Ronde
PO Box 5628, Snowmass Village, CO 81615
Email me: case@curecase.com
Visit my Website: www.curecase.com

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and assistance.

Thank you in advance,

H.K. "Case" Ronde.

Header

Welcome to the info page about the world’s first and only melanoma vaccine available

(With +60% success rates):

The following links will bring you to:

Oncobiomed and their vaccine; Tapcell.

Homepage, Oncobiomed (English version): http://www.oncobiomed.cl/ing-frontpage.htm

Homepage, Oncobiomed (Spanish version): http://www.oncobiomed.cl

Project Fondef; Research And Development of Biological Vaccines for Oncological Immunotherapy.

Homepage, Project Fondef (English summary): http://www.inmunoterapia.cl/summary.htm

Homepage, Project Fondef (Spanish version): http://www.inmunoterapia.cl

The short of it:

Cancer is a generic denomination, which includes different forms of the same illness. All forms of cancer have in common that a group of cells begin dividing without control. This leads to the formation of tumors, which can spread throughout the body, threatening the life of the affected patient.

Oncobiomed is a biotechnology company, which provides highly specialized Dentritic Cell based therapy for the treatment of cancer, located in Santiago, Chile.

This therapy began in 2001 and has shown to be very affective on various levels in fighting; Malignant Melanoma, Colon, Prostate, Breast and Kidney Cancer.

The Therapy explained:

Immunotherapy is based on the activation of the patient’s immune system. Oncobiomed isolates certain white blood cells (monocytes) from the patient’s blood and maintains them in cultures in high security laboratories. These cultures are stimulated with a specific selection of biologically active proteins known as cytokines, which transform the immature cells into their mature counterparts: antigen-presenting cells.

Tumor cell components obtained from the patient or from our own cell cultures are used to sensitize these Dendritic-like cells, named TAPcells®, against the particular patient’s type of cancer. These “trained” cells are re-injected intradermally to the patient causing an immunological response against cancer cells throughout the patient’s body.

Any Questions?

Email: Info@oncobiomed.cl

Phone Number (Chile) +56-2-23647156 (be prepared to speak Spanish)

Email me; Case@curecase.com


	Thanks for choosing the donation page. You are just a few clicks’ away from helping Case with his melanoma treatment plan. Option 1 - www. Paypal.com: (commission free): Use your PayPal account and submit your payment to, telekees@hotmail.com Option 2 - write and mail a check: (commission free): Pay to the order of: MELANOMA FIGHTING WITH CASE Mailing address: Alpine Bank PO Box 5490 Snowmass Village, CO 81615 Option 3 - Debit or Credit Card: (4% commission deducted from donation!): “Hit” the big bright donate button available on every page and follow the directions. Option 4 - Air miles: (check for transfer fees!!): I can definitely use your Air Miles. Please transfer your miles from: DELTA, CONTINENTAL or AMERICAN AIRLINES. Into equal airline, air mile plans, under my name and address: H.K.Ronde PO Box 5628 Snowmass Village, CO 81615 Let me emphasize that your donation will not only keep me on track (=alive), but it will also aid Oncobiomed in their quest to “fine tune” Tapcell, worldwide the first melanoma vaccine. Thank you very much for choosing any of the above options.