Every hour of every day, someone dies from melanoma – the most common form of skin cancer. On Saturday, October 17, 2015, you can help raise funds and awareness for melanoma research at the “Miles for Melanoma” 5K run/walk in Salt Lake City’s Sugar House Park, hosted by the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF).

You can come down and join the 5K, or just donate to support our Intermountain team, the Intermountain Melanomaniacs. Every bit helps!

A few sobering melanoma facts for the sun-worshippers out there:

• About 65% of melanoma is caused by exposure to UV light and sunlight.
• It takes only one blistering sunburn, especially at a young age, to more than double a person’s chance of developing melanoma later in life.
• Exposure to tanning beds before age 30 increases a person’s risk of developing melanoma by 75%.
• Young people who regularly use tanning beds are 8 times more likely to develop melanoma than people who have never used them. Occasional use of tanning beds triples their chances.
• Melanoma is not just a skin cancer. It can develop anywhere on the body – eyes, scalp, nails, feet, mouth, etc.
• The most dangerous aspect of melanoma is its ability, in later stages, to spread – most often to the liver, lungs and brain.

The MRF is committed to the support of medical research in finding effective treatments and eventually a cure for melanoma; the foundation educates patients, caregivers and physicians about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of melanoma. 

To find out more about Intermountain’s research efforts, and how we’re helping people live the healthiest lives possible, visit www.intermountainresearch.org.