The cure for melanoma begins with me.

As many of you know, I was diagnosed with stage 1B melanoma in late April 2004 when I was 29 years old. It was a devastating diagnosis. Dennis and I had only been married 18 months, we'd bought a house, and we were focused on starting a family. A serious medical diagnosis was not part of the plan.

Thanks to the guidance of my amazing dermatologist and the persistence of my mother-in-law, I was able to get in with Dr. Julie Lange at Johns Hopkins within a matter of weeks. I had a wide local excision (WLE) and a sentinel node biopsy (SNB) in mid May. Thankfully, the results of both were clear and Dr. Lange told me to focus on living. Less than a year later, I gave birth to Sarah and less than 18 months after that Andrew arrived.

Melanoma is the deadliest and fastest growing form of skin cancer and we all want a cure to be found soon. Miles for Melanoma is one way people come together to take action and help support this fight and the mission of the Melanoma Research Foundation.

Every step matters and every step counts. Significant advancement has been made in the past few years in improved detection, new drug treatments and better survival rates. This progress has been built on the breakthroughs made fighting other types of cancers, as well as the existing foundation of melanoma research.

There is more to be done and a long way to go, but the finish line is in sight. The energy, enthusiasm and encouragement from patients, survivors, families, friends, caregivers, and the medical community impacts many lives and many future. 

Thank you for your support!