Melanoma barged into our lives without knocking. In September 2022, what Glenda thought was a simple cyst turned out to be metastasized melanoma with no known original site. Like anyone receiving terrifying news, she panicked a little, Googled too much, and then started putting one foot in front of the other.

Since then, cancer has given her more plot twists than any story needs: immunotherapy, surgery, hospital stays, permanent adrenal insufficiency, insurance battles, regular PET scans, and, in February 2026, another recurrence in the same spot. She is now receiving T-VEC treatments—a genetically modified Herpes virus injected into the tumor to help my immune system fight back. It sounds like science fiction, but it is real, and it exists because of cancer research.

Research has given her options when fear was loudest. It has given her doctors more tools and given her more time, more hope, and more ordinary days—the kind of days you realize are anything but ordinary.

That is why we are walking in Miles for Melanoma. The Melanoma Research Foundation helps fund early detection, new treatments, and better survival rates for people like me.

Please join Team Battey at Miles for Melanoma in Seattle on October 4th or support our team with a donation. Whether you walk beside us or cheer us on from afar, you are helping turn fear into action, research into treatment, and hope into more tomorrows.

Thank you for your love and support. And if you walk with us, we promise to bring gratitude, determination, and possibly snacks.