Phoenix ( CNN ) -- Edward Laird is one of the faces behind the VA scandal -- a face he says is disfigured because he had to wait so long for treatment . The 76-year-old Navy veteran waited two and a half years to get a biopsy for a spot on his nose . And when the VA finally carried out the procedure that his doctor had ordered , the cancer had spread and most of his nose had to be removed . Laird sought treatment at the Phoenix VA hospital , the facility at the heart of a scandal uncovered by CNN of secret waiting lists and altered records that left veterans untreated , even as some died . The Inspector General of the VA released a scathing report last week on care of veterans at the Phoenix VA hospital , which could be just the beginning of a nationwide federal review of the Veterans Health System . A physician at the Phoenix VA confirmed to CNN that he sent Laird to the VA 's dermatology clinic repeatedly to get a biopsy of his nose , but the biopsy was repeatedly delayed . Laird said 70 % of his nose was removed to fight the cancer that spread as he waited for care . After complaining about the delay , Laird received a letter from the then-interim director of the Phoenix VA that said , `` I regret that you are dissatisfied with the care . The dermatologist that you saw did not identify any of the signs of a reoccurrence , '' referring to the spread of cancer . Today , Laird uses an ice cream stick to keep his right nostril open . Despite long wait times at the VA , Laird said he remains proud of his military service and the military brothers and sisters he meets when he goes to the Phoenix VA. `` There 's always lines at the VA but when you go , there you feel like you 're walking along with a bunch of champions , '' Laird said . `` It 'll jerk a tear from you sometimes . '' The report released last week by the VA 's Office of Inspector General found that 28 veterans had `` clinically significant delays '' in care at the Phoenix VA , six of whom died . But the Inspector General report stopped short of blaming the deaths on wait times , stating : . `` While the case reviews in this report document poor quality of care , we are unable to conclusively assert that the absence of timely quality care caused the deaths of these veterans . '' Laird 's case is not directly described in the report . Investigators did confirm in the report that schedulers at the Phoenix VA manipulated appointment data to hide how long patients were waiting for care . The latest data released by the VA shows more than 630,000 patients throughout the nation continue to wait longer than 30 days for appointments . More than 9,000 veterans are waiting this long for appointments at the Phoenix VA. President Barack Obama pledged last week at the American Legion conference in North Carolina to `` get to the bottom of these problems , '' calling them , `` outrageous and inexcusable . '' Obama signs $ 16 billion VA overhaul into law . Drew Griffin answers your questions on the VA scandal .
Edward Laird said he waited two and a half years for biopsy on a nose . In that time , cancer spread through his nose . Laird sought care at the Phoenix VA , where CNN uncovered many issues . The family wrote to Laird the dermatologist found no signs of cancer .