We attended the same high school, although he is several years older than me. I knew his younger sister. I reached out to his mother a few weeks ago by phone, just checking in to see how things were going for them. The cancer had spread to his lungs and his brain. He was undergoing some treatment to try to shrink the tumors. At last check, there was no evidence of disease below his neck. The tumors in the brain were still there, but had not gotten larger.
This man is just a few years older than me. He has 2 sons. He was an awesome high school athlete- if I remember correctly, he was varsity football, basketball, and baseball. To see him struggling to live life is very hard.
He and his family are on board with helping to educate our high school students and raise awareness. His mother had also passed my name along to another mom in the community who had a similar melanoma to mine. She is also interested in helping. This man's father also had a melanoma removed about 15 years ago.
We have to get the word out. We have to do something. Awareness; prevention; support.
***I really need to come up with a slogan that will work with our community. Our school mascot is a Rocket. Hmmm... Rockets blast melanoma? Rocketing melanoma? I don't know- I'll come up with something. And, there is a former student of mine who has a photography business. Wondering if I could get him to volunteer his services to photograph the Rocket faces and scars of melanoma (or even cancer of any kind)? Right now I can count 6 folks in our district that have or have had melanoma. I'm sure there are more that I'm not aware of.
I definitely want to get the no tanning pledge for the prom and homecoming. I am sure we could get prizes donated for some drawings for those who sign the pledge and adhere to it.
So many ideas run around in my little head all the time.
OK, I had to throw in a photo from the zoo. Look, I have on my long sleeve SPF50 shirt and my big hat. I work hard to keep those legs pale!
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