When service member Danny Scarola was stationed in Guam as part of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), he began experiencing unusual gastric issues. However, being considered “young” and in his mid-thirties, no one including his military primary health care provider gave it much attention.
That is until Scarola was listening to Tulsi Gabbard’s Podcast interview in early 2023 with the HunterSeven Foundation (H7F). H7F, a veteran led nonprofit, conducts research on conditions among post-9/11 veterans and educates them about critical health information relating to their exposures.
It was because of this interview that Scarola knew his gastric issues were something more, and he pushed through hesitation with his primary care doctor to have a colonoscopy and endoscopy. These tested positive for stage two gastric cancer. While Scarola had to move to Hawaii to seek treatment, H7F stepped in to help his wife and children financially as he fought and recovered.
“Thank you for saving my life and countless others.” Scarola wrote to co-founder and Executive Director of H7F Chelsey Simoni in a Christmas card. “Because of you, I am able to celebrate (another) Christmas with my family.”
For Simoni, a veteran and practicing RN, the foundation’s mission of saving lives isn’t just her passion, it’s her life’s calling.
The H7F story began in 2014, when Simoni met her husband, who was also an active-duty service member. One day he told Simoni that many of his comrades he served with in Iraq had died. “Not because of war,” he said. “Because of cancer.”
Of the 4.2 million veterans who have served post 9/11 in the global war on terror, 5,443 have died in combat while a staggering 100,580 veterans have died after military service for unknown reasons. With 92.6% of post-9/11 veterans reporting exposure to toxins while deployed, cancers and other serious conditions among young veterans are still being dismissed or misdiagnosed, like in the case of Army Master Sgt. Richard Stayskal.
Through research, education and access to early cancer screenings and prevention resources, the primarily volunteer-led H7F team has created a focused community of veterans and families who bear the true meaning of “No Man Left Behind.”
Access to Essential Cancer Screenings: H7F Warrior Needs Program
The H7F bridges the critical gap in access to care and early detection for service members and families impacted by cancer through the H7F Warrior Needs Program. In a strong effort to identify and address health concerns before they escalate, their proactive approach to cancer screenings gives service members access to early intervention and community.
“Early detection is absolutely critical,” Simoni said. “Depending on the type of cancer we can catch early through our one blood vial cancer screenings, the survival rate is over 90%.”
H7F performs comprehensive blood testing to screen for cancer risk at locations around the country and through home tests by request online. In 2025, the H7F took the cancer screenings to the 2025 SHOT Show in Las Vegas where they performed 100 screenings on veterans. Of those tested, nearly 20% received abnormal findings.
H7F Warrior Needs Program also supports veterans and families with proactive wellness, medical care and recovery and caregiver support. The foundation covers functional medicine, programs not covered by insurance, imaging and lab studies and caregiver support including travel and funeral expenses, when possible.
In 2022, the H7F connected with veteran Zachary Hisken, who had recently received a positive cancer diagnosis which was later deemed a terminal form of brain cancer. Veterans Affairs (VA) denied community care for Hisken. The family sold their home that fall in a last ditch effort to continue therapy that would extend his life, but it was too late.
On February 4, 2023 Hisken passed away at the age of 32 leaving behind his wife of 13 years and two young children. After the VA would only cover $2,000 of the funeral, the H7F community raised $20,000 to cover the costs of the funeral. They continue to secure housing and provide mental health support for the family.
Evidence-Based Research
The original mission of the H7F was to conduct research to find the link between toxic exposure and military cancer rates. The name “HunterSeven” is in honor of Sergeant Major Robert Bowman, who bore HunterSeven as his call sign. Bowman served two tours in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with the U.S. Army and was diagnosed with service-related cancer shortly after his tours. It was discovered a burn pit of toxic and non-toxic waste was located less than half a mile from his sleeping quarters in Iraq. His story led to H7F’s first research article, “Slow Burns: A Qualitative Study of Burn Pit and Toxic Exposures Among Military Veterans Serving in Afghanistan, Iraq and Throughout the Middle East.”
With the assistance of grassroots donors and veteran-owned companies such as Black Rifle Coffee and Noveske Rifleworks, the H7F team is near completion of a similar, longitudinal study on Afghanistan veterans, their exposures and health effects with over 3,000-plus veteran participants. The findings of that study are scheduled to be released in the spring of 2025.
Education
The veterans and health care professionals who comprise the H7F team have personally experienced the lack of resources and knowledge available on military toxic exposures and risk factors. That’s why they focus on supplying toxic exposure education and resources.
To help veterans know what toxins they have been exposed to, H7F created an intricate Governing Document, where soldiers can find information on their exposures relating to specific combat operations, countries, bases and the time frames when they were exposed. By linking to the Department of Defense Periodic Occupational and Environmental Monitoring documents, this resource has the most current information about potential toxic exposures and can help identify post-deployment side effects.
H7F also discovered that only 4% of registered nurses are equipped to provide care specifically for the veteran population. For Simoni, this was a huge education gap she knew the foundation needed to fill.
Expanding The Mission
“We are the ones that are paying for the funerals of a 33-year-old Army combat medic who died from a preventable brain cancer,” Simoni said. “We are the ones who hugged the families, the parents of a young Marine veteran who died from cancer. That is why at the end of the day … we are here to save lives.”
The goal of the foundation has always been to help as many veterans as possible, which is why 99% of each dollar is spent on saving a post-9/11 military veteran’s life. There is currently a waiting list of veterans who need support. But because more demand exceeds their funding, the foundation must make difficult choices about how they prioritize the distribution of resources.
The foundation is also working to expand the H7F Warrior Needs Program to address more immediate needs, sustained needs, peer support, family support and community networking.
“More partnerships and donations would mean more veterans who ask for a blood test can receive one at home or on location and more lives could be saved,” Simoni said.
“I ask a lot of veterans if they knew their service would lead to cancer or other health problems if they would sign up again. The answer is always ‘yes.’”
Every warrior who has served has taken the risk of losing their lives in service to their country. However, sometimes the real battle starts when the soldier returns home.
“Service members do not deploy unhealthy, but they return with progressive illnesses and worsening symptoms,” Simoni said.
H7F is not just a guide for post-9/11 veterans when it comes to toxic exposures and cancer, it’s a life-giving community that stands with them every step of the way.
To learn more about the HunterSeven Foundation, contact Portfolio Director Clarice Smith.
