died allegedly because they were waiting for doctor's care at that phoenix hospital, a man named thomas breen, who lost his battle with bladder cancer last november. his family says he sought treatment but died before getting an appointment. sally barnes breen joins me from arizona. thank you for joining me. tell me about your family's story. >> well, pop served in the navy and he served for four years and he sweared by the va because in brooklyn that's where he was taken care of he had bladder cancer that was taken care of and doing pretty well. he had a prosthetic leg, one leg removed and one had stents. he honored the va hospital down in brooklyn, wouldn't go nowhere else. we had to bring him here because my husband's brother died. and when we brought him here on september 28th, he had suffered -- he was bleeding through the urine and he was having a hard time getting up. so we called to go to banner health, no, i want to go to the va. i brought him there, me and my husband teddy. we brought a gallon jug with us, sister i'llized if he had to go to the bathroom he wouldn't have to struggle,

sally barnes green lost her father-in-law thomas breen, only 70 years old and navy veteran and died of cancer last november. he blames his death on the va hospital in phoenix, at least the family does. thanks for joining us, tell me what happened. it was a pretty stark reality for you trying to get primary care for your father-in-law and it came too late. >> thank you for having me. yes, i hold responsible the va and presidency and everybody involved. it doesn't appease me at all in the least that they fired everybody. no. they need to fix the va now because people are still in the emergency room suffering try to get an appointment. that's one. two, firing them, yes. okay, but what about the criminal charges of the neglect, lack of care and poor quality of care and mistreatment? he wasn't an animal. he had a gallon blood that was the witness of what was going on. he stated these words, help me, i used to have cancer in brooklyn and fixed that problem. i'm scared. help me. what do they do? they dismiss him like an animal. he served his country. you're going to tell me he's not a human b

. >> reporter: she lost her father in law thomas breen to cancer last november and blames his death on the va hospital in phoenix. >> i'm sorry i'm shaking, but they were quick to dismiss my pop, right? >> reporter: she says when he went to the hospital for urgent care, the staff refused to treat him and told him to see his primary va doctor. he waited months but died before he could get an appointment. >> all the people that are a part of this, they should be held accountable because it's a crime. you know, delayed care is denied care, and it's just not fair. >> reporter: his death occurred during the same period when 40 other veterans died while waiting for medical treatment at the phoenix hospital. dr. samuel foot works for the va and was the first to allege in an effort to improve records, hospital officials kept a secret unofficial list of veterans that sought medical care. >> this was basically an elaborate scheme to coverup patient wait times and coverup patients that we didn't have providers for. the main problem was a huge demand and relatively limited supply of service. >> re

>> not a word but the families of the veterans who died spoke plenty loud like the family of thomas breenith blood in his urine and james who died of skin cancer. he did not know that he had and there was padro valdez that came in because he could not breathe and he was sent home and later died of respiratory failure. listen. >> i still think he was loyal to that hospital because he was loyal to his country, and he just had the faith they would be loyal to him in return, and it never happened. >> reporter: 40 families, megyn, with very similar heart breaking tales. >> not right. trace, thank you. >>> as this scandal unfolds, suggests that the problems at the va point to some much bigger issues with big government programs. we'll dig into that. we'll speak with the panel next and hear directly from real life veterans and their families as they share their message for washington. >> i have had no luck at all. i've called there constantly from november to this month and not been able to get in. >> these are all people. we're not numbers. we're proud americans. >> i want to know if the people

she blames the va hospital in phoenix for the loss of her father-in-law, thomas breen, who died from cancer last november. he's sally barnes breen reacting moments ago to the news that shinseki stepped down. >> it doesn't appease me at all in the least that they fired everybody, no. they need to fix the va now because people are still in the emergency room suffering trying to get an appointment. >> so will this satisfy the veterans community? does it bring us any closer to fixing the underlying very real problems here? i'm joined now by montel williams, 22 year marine veteran and emmy award winning talk show host. >> thanks for having me. >> last week you said firing secretary shinseki wasn't going to cut it. what more do you think they should be doing? >> let's put it in context. i know the top head has to come off but we have to look and everybody said the same thing, systemic problem didn't start with president obama, this has been a problem for the last 30 years. we need to stop the reviewing and waiting for reviews and reports to come in to take action today. the president can ta

that number includes thomas breen, who died of cancer last november.he sought treatment, but died before he ever saw a doctor. >> all the people that are a part of this, they should be held accountable, because it's a crime. you know, delayed care is denied care. and it's just not fair. >> shinseki will be fighting mounting calls that he resign. all in all, enough to make you sick. joining me, senator bernie sanders, chairman of that senate va committee. thank you for being here. you personally called on shinseki to testify. what do you want to hear from him? >> i want to hear from him tomorrow about his assessment of the problems within va health care, and the strengths in va health care. after the allegations were made in phoenix, and by the way, they are allegations, there were some initial media reports that said 40 veterans died because they were on a waiting list. well, folks are backing off of that a little bit, and now want to see an independent investigation, which is taken by -- we don't know how many veterans died. that's what we have to inv

one of the victims of the secret waiting list was a 71-year-old navy veteran named thomas breen. in late september, mr. breen was rushed to the phoenix v.a. hospital after he became ill and doctors diagnosed him, knowing that he had a history of scare r and they designated his condition as "urgent." so that would indicate that mr. breen should get another checkup within a week of his visit to the internationa emerg. and yet mr. breen was forced to wait and wait and wait and wait. even as he and his daughter-in-law made daily phone calls to the v.a. asking about an appointment and emphasizing the urgency of his medical condition. each time they were told to wait just a little longer, and finally a full two months after his initial e.r. visit, mr. breen passed away. the cause of death was stage-4 bladder cancer. a week after that, the v.a. finally called with mr. breen's appointment, as after he died. by then obviously it was too late. mr. president, stories like mr. breen's should be a wake-up call to the united states senate. they should be a wake-up call to the white house. they

. >> reporter: veterans like thomas breen dying of painful cancer while waiting nearly a year to see doctor. >> he was delayed care completely and on that secret list because i have proof. >> reporter: the va secretary shinseki ending the week visiting the capitol hill saying he won't quit, despite a wave of calls for him to resign, finally issuing this statement, "the scandal is of great personal concern to me." and if true, we will act. >> we'll talk more about that on the roundtable. >>> now the crisis in ukraine, where they're voting for a new president this morning, in the midst of what vladimir putin calls a civil war, russian troops are still on the border and there are real fears about what happens next. abc's alex marquadt is on the ground with the latest. alex? >> reporter: good morning, martha. this is a momentous vote for ukraine. one full of hope for these long lines of voters who want to elect someone who can end the chaos and reunite this country. there has been a strong turnout here in the capital kiev. but in the violent eastern part of the country, where the ukraini

and on the news, they were closed down for four days selling body parts at the time thomas francis breenrs and i'm pissed off. >> i understand. >>> more "hannity" as we continue right after the break. well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. allergy medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow! it instantly opens your nose up to 38% more. so you can breathe and do the one thing you want to do -- sleep. add breathe right to your allergy medicine. shut your mouth and sleep right. breathe right. that, my friends, is everything. and with the quicksilver card from capital one, you earn unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you purchase. not just "everything at the hardware store." not "everything, until you hit your cash back limit." quicksilver can earn you unlimited 1.5% cash back on everything you could possibly imagine. say it with me -- everything. one more time, everything! and with that in mind... what's in your wallet? eating healthier,tion by and with that in mind... drinking plenty of water, but still not getting relief? try dulcolax laxa

they help people like thomas breen, a navy veteran, who like mr. richardson died of cancer after a two-month period in which he reportedly waited in vain to hear back from the v.a. about an appointment time. they also represent people like edward laird whose story was written up in the "los angeles times" this last weekend. mr. laird was a navy veteran aged 86 who discovered a couple of unusual marks on his nose, and so he went to the doctor at the phoenix v.a. hospital to get it checked out, and according to the "los angeles times," the doctor said he needed a biopsy, but it took almost two years before mr. laird was allowed to see a v.a. specialist, and when he finally did get to see the specialist, he was told that the biopsy was unnecessary, and so it wasn't done, but mr. laird found it hard to believe but that's what they told him. unfortunately, by the time he got to the v.a. hospital in phoenix, by the time he got them to agree to see him, the situation with his nose which he could tell as simply a layman had gotten worse and worse and worse

long this alleged cooking of the books was going on and how it affected soldiers. 71-year-old thomas breentold he needed to see a doctor urgency, within a week. >> they called me december 6, he's dead already. i said you're a little too late, sweetheart. >> turns out he had stage four bladder cancer, undiagnosed. we know the va itself knew of some problems with delays and waiting lists, data keeping issues going back nearly a decade. 2010, a va memo called for immediate action to identify and eliminate inappropriate scheduling practices, sometimes referred to as gaming strategies. this is not patient-centered care. the member specifically bans using paper logs for appointments. again, this was four years ago. now being held by some, at least partly accountable, the white house which staunchly stands by its actions, in the face of problems that clearly started long before president obama took office. >> no. this is not a new issue to the president. that's why he's been focused on it since he's been president. >> reporter: critics calling this scandal a mess. >> it is time for our president

>> reporter: and in phoenix, sally barnes breen loses her father-in-law, thomas, to cancer, after waitingmore than a year for a doctor. anxious to finally hear directly from president obama. >> yes. i wanted to hear a long time ago. >> reporter: the president, promising that if v.a. hospital staff anywhere has gamed the system, creating secret lists to hide delays, people will be punished. >> it is dishonorable. it is disgraceful. and i will not tolerate it, period. >> reporter: but the president stunned relatives by saying so far the i.g. has found no case where a death was actually caused by the delays.çó >> and the i.g. indicated that he did not see a link between the wait and them actually dying. >> reporter: bringing another wave of anger to sally, back in phoenix. >> he's lying. and that's why i'm angry zv because, in fact, they're responsible for his death. >> reporter: still, the president vowing to fix whateveú is wrong at the v.a. jim avila, abc news, the white house.nb >>> 80% of american troops are headed to africa -- 80 troops are headed to africa to help search for the kidn