Save the Date: Portland Melanoma Walk, May 11

I am thrilled to announce that I am coordinating the 2nd Annual Portland Melanoma Walk! In it's inaugural year, the event raised over $15,000 for AIM at Melanoma. This year, the event will be kicking off at Wallace Park in NW Portland on Saturday, May 11, 2013. We've still got quite a bit more planning to do, but mark your calendars now! Here are a few different ways you can get involved:

1. Register for the walk. It's free. Plus, you get a t-shirt.
2. Make a donation. Can't make it? Don't live in Oregon? You can still support us! I'm hoping to raise at least $1,000 on my personal fundraising page. Every little bit helps. If you're a small business owner, you can also contact me for sponsorship and in-kind donation opportunities. Tax deductions, warm fuzzy feelings, etc. :)
3. Create your own fundraising page. There will be amazing prizes for participants who help us raise money!
4. Volunteer. If you live in the Portland area, I'm looking for several day-of volunteers. Contact me if you'd like more information about volunteering.

Share this widely with friends and family! Here are a few reasons why:

• Melanoma is the most deadly type of skin cancer.
• Every eight minutes, someone in the United States will be given a melanoma diagnosis and every hour someone will die from the disease.
• Melanoma is the fastest growing cancer in the United States and worldwide.
• Melanoma is the most common form of cancer in young adults 25-29 and the second most common cancer in young adults 15-29 years old.
• If caught in the early stages, melanoma is very treatable with a survival rate of nearly 100%. If untreated or allowed to spread, there is no known treatment or cure. Unfortunately, melanoma metastasis is very unpredictable and it often spreads quickly.
• The rate of new melanoma diagnoses was 36% higher in Oregon than the national average from 2002-2006 and was the 4th highest in the U.S. An estimated 1,220 state residents were diagnosed with melanoma in 2009.