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Giving Our Community a Voice

We’ve done it! Our Spring 2021 catalog is here and it’s our first ever to feature real-world people who are tackling skin cancer every day—they are warriors! In the past, we’ve been honored to include well-known warriors like Norah O’Donnell and Holly Rowe, as well as amazing professional models who have survived skin cancer, like Bradly Tomberlin. But this is the first time you’ll see everyday people within the greater skin cancer community represented throughout our catalog pages.  

It all started with a basic idea – celebrate skin cancer warriors and inspire others to dress sun-safe. But as is the case with most of our community outreach, it quickly evolved into something more. Every one of our real-world models lit up the camera with their hope, energy and passion for our shared mission. And their willingness to share their stories and support each other was just incredible!

Each individual who participated in our Spring 2021 catalog has written a blog detailing their unique experience with skin cancer. We have stories from warriors and the people supporting them…professionals, advocates, and caregivers. Everyone came together to help our first warrior-dedicated catalog shine. Based on our past experience, we were not surprised in the least.  If our mission has taught us one thing, it is that skin cancer warriors and advocates can move mountains. And if you spend enough time in their presence, you’ll realize that you can too. 

In our Spring 2021 catalog you will find….

  1. Warriors currently taking on skin cancer or living with other sun-sensitivities
  2. Survivors who are NED (No Evidence of Disease) or in remission
  3. Care givers supporting family or friends going through a diagnosis
  4. Advocates leading the charge to protect and prevent
  5. Medical Providers dedicating their time to keeping everyone safe

As you flip the pages of the catalog and go online and read their stories, we hope you’ll be as inspired as we were. And we welcome your help! If you, your family, or friends are interested in participating in our next catalog or blog please don’t hesitate to reach out. Every story, and every warrior makes a difference.

We are BEYOND grateful for our community’s involvement in our mission and everyone’s ongoing efforts to combat skin cancer.  Every day we’re dedicated to keeping yours safe.

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This is Brave

This is Brave: Instead of Silence, Norah Chose to Be Vulnerable

We’ve all got the t-shirts that say “Be Brave”, right? Well, I’ve been listening a lot lately to Brene Brown, who says in order to be brave, we must be vulnerable.

“There is no courage without being all in. If you can do something and not feel vulnerable, it’s probably not that brave.”

Brene Brown nails it! One of the most vulnerable things we can do is talk about an illness and our health. So here I go:

In late 2016, my dermatologist informed me I had been diagnosed with a very early stage of melanoma. Early detection and surgery saved my life. At first, I thought I would keep my diagnosis silent. Why did I need to share something that made me feel and appear vulnerable?

With the help of friends, I decided to go public with my diagnosis. And what came next shocked me. There was not only an outpouring of support, but also many people thanked me. “I have not gotten a skin check in years, but after I read your story, I scheduled an appointment,” said one male executive at CBS. Another middle-aged gentleman who works at CBS showed up in our CBS This Morning studio with a big bandage on his forward and said, “Hey, Norah. Because of you, I got checked and they removed a skin cancer.”

And for my part, since my diagnosis and surgery, I’ve continued to see my dermatologist every 4-5 months for a check-up and have been much more mindful about my exposure to the sun.

By sharing our experiences, we are helping to inform one another and protect one another. This is part of our common humanity. So thank you for helping me learn that my vulnerability makes me brave, and let’s pray, will help save lives.

Want to read more? Catch up on Norah’s battle and story she shared with us from last year

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Skin Diaries This is Brave

This is Brave: Norah O’Donnell

I never thought I would hear the words that I had been diagnosed with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. And I admit, the first thing I did was cry. And then, I felt really sorry for myself. It took some time but then I realized that as a wife and a mother, I had to be strong.

But it is difficult to be strong when one feels incredibly vulnerable. My diagnosis was the first time I confronted my own mortality. It was also the first time I think my children did as well.

“So, wait, you have cancer?” asked my 8-year-old daughter Riley.

“Yes, but we are going to cut it out!” I replied optimistically.

“Is there any chance you can die from the surgery?” asked my 9-year-old son Henry

“I’m absolutely not going to die,” I assured him. “I mean, eventually I will. But not from this surgery.” When I left my daughter’s bedroom I felt horrible for sharing with them that I was having a relatively minor surgery. There was no need for me to worry them.

But I was scared and, perhaps selfishly, really appreciated their deep concern. Over the next few months after the surgery, my daughters, Riley and Grace, took turns at putting a healing ointment on the scar on my back, which I couldn’t reach.

“Oh mom, it looks soooo much better today,” my darling Riley would say, providing such positive feedback.

My dermatologist, Dr. Elizabeth Hale, made the diagnosis early. I had the surgery January 2017, which included a 3-inch incision and about 25 stitches. The scar has healed, but is still quite visible. It is a reminder that early detection saves lives.

Part of my preventative care now means that I return to Dr. Hale every three to four months for full-body checks to make sure there’s nothing out of the ordinary. Each visit requires the strength to confront the scary possibility that she will find another malignant mole.

The reality is that I can prevent a truly devastating diagnosis now with frequent check-ups. The harder truth I’ve come to learn is that I could have prevented the cancer altogether.

“More people develop skin cancer because of tanning than develop lung cancer because of smoking,” Dr. Hale told me. Just think about that.

Well, I am doing more than just thinking about it. I’m telling my children that while skin cancer is the most common form of cancer, it is also the most preventable.

I grew up in San Antonio, Texas, where jumping in the pool wasn’t just leisurable, it was one of the only ways to cool off! With the temperature pushing 100 degrees in the summer, we spent hours in the pool, many times without sunscreen. In high school, I would visit a tanning salon during the winter. I confessed this history to Dr. Hale who told me, “People that indoor tan before the age of 35 years have a 75% increased chance of melanoma.”

I know I made some bad choices. Those attempts to get a tan likely led to my cancer. But by sharing this with my children and others, I hope that my story can help all of us learn some valuable lessons and have the strength to embrace prevention.

Skin Cancer Facts can be found at http://www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/skin-cancer-facts

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