Kvartuč was born in Croatia, but moved to Los Angeles at the age of six where he grew up and became a photojournalist. In 2008, he was hired by CROPIX, Croatia's largest photo agency, to work for them in Dubrovnik.
It was his second summer working in Dubrovnik when he was diagnosed with cancer again. He was treated and cured in Croatia, having surgery in Zagreb at REBRO and Chemotherapy in Split.
As a gesture of appreciation to his countrymen, Kvartuc is raising 50,000 Euros towards the purchase of PET/CT scanner for the city of Dubrovnik. Kvartuč firmly believes that the PET scanner is the biggest weapon in fighting cancer and thinks that the citizens of Dubrovnik deserve to have this life saving machine. Currently only two such machines exist in Croatia, one in Zagreb and one in Split. However, this is hardly enough.
Kvartuć is not a professional athlete, but when he came to Dubrovnik, he brought his Stand Up Paddle board to take out on the Adriatic Sea. He was the only one in the country who was doing the sport. Croatians never even heard of it before. In the process, Kvartuč generated plenty of media interest about being Croatia's first Stand Up Paddle boarder.
He has chosen to paddle across the Adriatic Sea, from Venice, Italy to Pula, Croatia, because he knows that it will generate enough publicity to achieve his goal of raising 50,000 Euros towards the purchase of the scanner. This mission serves Kvartuč also as he will be training for three months in order to be strong enough to accomplish the crossing. It is his way of not allowing the cancer to weaken him, instead, making him stronger!
The difference between a CT scanner and a PET/CT scanner is form versus function. The PET/CT scanner knows not only what the disease looks like, but what it is doing. This allows doctors to immediately amend treatment according to how the disease is functioning. This enables the patient to get the proper treatment in the fastest amount of time insuring a victory against the disease.
Kvartuč has already received lots of media attention for the crossing with more coverage being planned before the June departure from Venice. He expects to have the world's attention on this record breaking voyage.
To kick start the donations, Libertas Foundation has donated the initial $5,000.00 to Branimir and his wonderful cause. All donations are tax deductible and will be managed by the Libertas Foundation. To donate by credit card, go to
www.LibertasFoundation.org and click Donate. If you would like to send a check, please send to the following address:
Libertas Foundation
777 W. 9th St.
