Anthony Santoro, MD

Finding the Right Care  

Between late 2022 and mid-2025, I underwent multiple surgeries, immunotherapies, radiation treatments, and ultimately tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL)—a type of immune cell therapy. Bleeding from a tiny skin spot on my shoulder led me to Dr. Santoro, my dermatologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center. The team moved quickly after my 2022 diagnosis; the melanoma had spread to lymph nodes under my left arm.

Twelve years ago, when I was 59 years old, I was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer of the tongue. I had some pain on the left side of my tongue, and I unfortunately ignored it. I thought it would go away. Eventually, I got it looked at and it turned out to be cancer. That’s how I began my journey at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

I am 78 years old and have owned horses for 68 of those years. I am a cowboy through and through. My father gave me my first pony when I was just five years old and my first horse when I was 10. I have had hundreds of horses since.