April 24, 2012 newsletter

Was That Tan Really Worth It?

Kelly unknowingly did all the wrong things. As a teen, she was a "sun worshiper" who never heard of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. In her early 20s, she began to pay the price. Today, as a 15-40 Connection speaker she has already inspired teens and 20-somethings to buck the trend and stop using tanning beds and start using sunscreen. Across the nation, tanning bed use continues to rise as incidence of melanoma over the past 40 years has increased 4-fold increase in men under age 40 and 8-fold in women under 40. Using a tanning bed use before age 35 increases your melanoma risk by 75% and your basal cell carcinoma risk by 69%. Read Kelly's story. Then link to learn how check your own skin.

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?   Quiz Yourself   ?

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When melanoma is caught at an early stage (stage I) the 5 year survival rate is 97%. When melanoma progresses to an advanced stage 4, the 5 year survival rate drops to:

A: 55%

B: 70%

C: 15%

D: 30%

Answer: C. 15%

15-40 Connection at the Boston Marathon

The forecast predicted temperatures would soar. Boston Marathon race organizers encouraged novice runners to sit this one out and run in 2013. Hundreds took the offer as temperatures reached 89 degrees. But 15-40 Connection runners, Rich Burke and Jim Heald, did not want to wait. They courageously ran and in the process raised thousands of dollars for the 15-40 Connection that are at work creating awareness about the incidence of cancer in the age group and motivating changes in behavior that can saves lives. Thank you Rich and Jim and all who supported you - you inspire us!

There is still time to support Rich and Jim - you can donate online, reference their name(s) in the comments box.

Clubs are Forming

Schools are contacting the 15-40 Connection and expressing interest in establishing 15-40 Connection Clubs on their campuses. If you want to start a club at your college or high school, email us at info@15-40.org. We'd love to hear from you.

Recent Happenings

A Cow Plop Drop What is it? Well ...a dear pet (cow..!) of a student roamed a chalked grid drawn on the Fitchburg State University campus quad and students "bid" on the likelihood of their bovine friend (dressed in an orange bell) making her mark on the specified squares. Members of the Student Government Association turned this springtime stress-reliever into a young adult cancer awareness event by providing attendees with information about early detection and self-advocacy.

Survivors Talk with High School Students
15-40 Connection Speakers, Laurel Ahearn, Dave McGrath and Hannah Levine shared the hard lessons they learned about how critical it is to pay attention to your health and the signals your body may be sending you with juniors at Shrewsbury (MA) High School (where Hannah is senior). One student commented, "I didn't really know young people could get cancer. When you hear of someone having cancer, most of the time it's in older people. The 15-40 presentation was very eye-opening for me." Speakers answered a number of questions and students will be writing about what they learned in the coming weeks.

15-40 Connection Meets HOSA StudentsThe 15-40 Connection talked with Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) at Quabbin Regional High School in Barre, MA who were surprised to learn that people their age can get cancer. They are developing plans to share this information with their peers through a spring melanoma awareness campaign and are making plans for 2012-2013 school year impact events.

Freshman Rock! Freshman allied health students at Worcester Technical High School (MA) invited the 15-40 Connection to campus. They wanted to talk about ways they could play a key role in building teen cancer awareness on campus. This motivated group of students has already gotten approval to add cancer awareness messages to their upcoming school-wide Talent Night. They plan to show 15-40 Connection public service announcements and host a 15-40 Connection information table.

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