You'll find SPF in more than your sunscreen next weekend when Laura Duckett and 50 other volunteers and staff members from the Skin Cancer Institute at the Arizona Cancer Center donate their time and expertise at the Safe From the Sun Walkathon for Melanoma Awareness.
Students, nurses, physicians, administrative staff, cancer survivors and community members — many with spouses and families in tow — will promote awareness about sun safety and skin-cancer detection at the event next Saturday.
"Tanning is still very popular. The mind-set is just like it was when I was young: Skin cancer is not going to happen to me," said Duckett, who has witnessed the flaw in that logic firsthand during 16-plus years of dealing with patients as a study coordinator with the Skin Cancer Institute.
The institute is dedicated to improving early-detection techniques and educating the public about how skin cancer develops and spreads while helping change unhealthy sun-related behavior.
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"Skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer; however, if it is caught in the early stages it is very treatable, and in most cases it is preventable," said Denise Spartonos, community outreach coordinator with the Skin Cancer Institute.
The institute is conducting several research programs, including clinical trials of topical drugs for patients with melanoma, a Family Study of Skin Cancer in Arizona for families at high risk for melanoma and the Chemoprevention of Skin Cancer Program Project, which focuses on developing new strategies to eradicate intraepithelial neoplasias in the skin and reduce the risk of skin cancer.
The Institute also offers Skin Cancer Multidisciplinary Clinics for management and treatment of complex skin cancers as well as community outreach and education.
The passion demonstrated by researchers and physicians at the Skin Cancer Institute is contagious, Duckett said. The patients have also reaffirmed her commitment, she said, recalling one man who had undergone multiple disfiguring facial surgeries to treat his skin cancer.
"You never really noticed his appearance because he was such a good, courageous, strong, decent man who was doing the studies to give back to the community. He made a mark on my heart, and I have met so many people like him here at the clinic. People's stories are incredible," she said.
Those personal stories — and her mother's mantra, "Remember who you are and what you stand for" — have compelled Duckett's family, including her 16-year-old daughter, Kaetlyn, to campaign for sun safety.
"I always carry sunscreen with me. I have a little bottle I carry to school and a big bottle I carry for soccer games, and all my friends on my team use it. I make sure they put it on, and if they get sunburned I get really mad," said Kaetlyn, who is helping with paperwork and other tasks at the walkathon, which will also feature a health and wellness expo and skin-cancer screenings on a first-come, first-served basis.
"This is a great opportunity for people to receive free screenings who might not otherwise be seen," Duckett said.
If You Go
• What: Safe From the Sun Walkathon for Melanoma Awareness.
• When: 3-6 p.m. Oct. 10.
• Where: Arizona Cancer Center at UMC North, 3838 N. Campbell Ave.
• Cost: $25 by Tuesday; $30 on the day of the event. Festivities include a two-mile walk, health and wellness expo and skin cancer screenings on a first-come, first-served basis. Each walker will receive a goodie bag containing sunscreen, passes to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a $5 Bookmans coupon and other prizes.
• For more information: Skin Cancer Institute at the Arizona Cancer Center, www.azskincancerinstitute.org. For registration or more information on the walkathon, go to www.safefromthesun.org or call 626-1037.
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