Congratulations To 2010's Top 5 Pledge Collectors! See what you can win just by helping us collect pledges for the cause:
#1. Rachael Baehr - Digital Camera
#2. Kim Schaefer - Noah's Ark Tickets & Del-Bar Gift Certificate
#3. Christine Crawley - Starbucks Basket & Water Bottle/Hat Set
#4. Deb Turnell - $25 Tanger Gift Card
#5. Jana Smith - $20 Culver's Card
Block The Sun Run 5K Race & 3K Walk Event, Wisconsin Dells
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR A VERY SUCCESSFUL EVENT IN 2010!
Over 530 participants and countless volunteers and onlookers helped us bring in over $35,000 again this year for melanoma research!
For results, click one of the links on either side of the home page and check back soon for photos!
Mark your calendars for next year - BTSR will once again take place Father's Day weekend on SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 2011!
Our Story - In Memory of Aaron Anchor
Block The Sun Run was started in 2007 in memory of Aaron Anchor, a local Wisconsin Dells resident. Aaron died of metastatic melanoma in August 2002, 15 years after having Melanoma removed from his scalp. He had no returning tumor.
The return of Aaron’s melanoma after 15 years was shocking and devastating. Aaron's case was in no way a typical one. It does, however, prove that Melanoma is both dangerous, quick-acting and unpredictable. Until the diagnosis of Stage IV Melanoma, our dad was a healthy, active, 64-year-old man. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, brother and friend. He is missed by so many every single day.
This entire experience has opened the eyes of our family, our friends and our entire community. Losing Aaron inspired all of us to do something to increase awareness about Melanoma. Not only is it an incredibly dangerous and unpredictable disease, but it affects an increasing number of young people and it continues to be somewhat of a mystery to the medical community.
One of the most deadly aspects of Melanoma is that so many people are diagnosed with advanced stages -lymph node involvement and even more – before they notice skin changes. After all, Melanoma is not just skin cancer. Many people are shocked to hear that Melanoma is the leading cause of cancer death in women between ages 25-30 and further, even the second leading cause of cancer death in women between ages 30-35.
And so, our mission has become education and research. We're making an effort to reach people of all ages, to let them know that Melanoma is not just about the dangers of the sun and skin cancer. It encompasses so much more.
There is both hope and treatment if melanoma is found early, so please join in the cause as we fight to save other families from the fear, anxiety and devastating loss that this terrible disease creates.
Block The Sun Run's 2010 Melanoma Memorial - Bob Swofford Each year, we've been overwhelmed with the support of other families in the melanoma community. They've inspired, participated, volunteered and educated at our event. Their support has inspired us to begin partnering each year with another family that has been touched by melanoma to share their story and hopefully reach more people with the common goal of funding research and raising awareness. This year BTSR is partnering with the Swofford family who lost their husband and father, Bob Swofford, to melanoma in 2003. Here is their story.
In the early spring of 1999 Bob Swofford found himself in the dermatologist’s office after a strange looking mole was seen on the back of his head. The mole was immediately removed and biopsied, which revealed it to be melanoma. After a surgical-wide excision of the area and a lymph node biopsy with clear results, Bob’s family finally breathed a sigh of relief. There was no further need for treatment; only routine visits, chest x-rays and skin checks every 3 months. Bob’s family was relieved that they only thing further they’d have to deal with were some strange looks he would receive when people saw the 4-inch scar on the back of his head. And to his family, the scar continually served as a constant reminder of what could have been a deadly diagnosis.
After breathing a sigh of relief after each doctor's visit, life went on as normal for the Swofford’s. One day in 2003, everything changed. Bob started feeling some pain in his ribs and he just assumed it was a pulled muscle, but the pain would not subside so he saw a doctor and eventually, an x-ray proved otherwise. Spots were detected on his lungs and after a series of scans and surgeries, it became clear that the melanoma had not only returned, but had already invaded his lungs, bones, and other major organs. It was Stage IV melanoma - and Bob and his family’s worst nightmare came true.
Sadly, there was nothing to be done except manage Bob’s inevitable pain. Within 5 months, Bob lost this battle to this terrifying disease. The mole that started this deadly disease had been there for years. Doctors believe, however, that this mole changed over time because of direct exposure to sunlight. So the Swofford family urges you, please, to practice sun safety and help prevent melanoma before it can begin.
Join the Aaron Anchor and Bob Swofford families in their quest for awareness, their passion for early detection and their fight for more research dollars. Melanoma is preventable and treatable with early diagnosis so help us today and we can, and will certainly save lives!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Block The Sun Run is always the Saturday of Father's Day Weekend ------------------------------------
Thanks Again To Our 2010 Platinum & Gold Level Sponsors:
Help us support our generous sponsors by visiting their sites. Sponsorship is underway for 2010, so if you're interested in having your business or organization participate as an event supporter, please let us know!
For a list of all 2010 events sponsors, click here.
In the early spring of 1999 Bob Swofford found himself in the dermatologist’s office after a strange looking mole was seen on the back of his head. The mole was immediately removed and biopsied, which revealed it to be melanoma. After a surgical-wide excision of the area and a lymph node biopsy with clear results, Bob’s family finally breathed a sigh of relief. There was no further need for treatment; only routine visits, chest x-rays and skin checks every 3 months. Bob’s family was relieved that they only thing further they’d have to deal with were some strange looks he would receive when people saw the 4-inch scar on the back of his head. And to his family, the scar continually served as a constant reminder of what could have been a deadly diagnosis.
Swofford’s. One day in 2003, everything changed. Bob started feeling some pain in his ribs and he just assumed it was a pulled muscle, but the pain would not subside so he saw a doctor and eventually, an x-ray proved otherwise. Spots were detected on his lungs and after a series of scans and surgeries, it became clear that the melanoma had not only returned, but had already invaded his lungs, bones, and other major organs. It was Stage IV melanoma - and Bob and his family’s worst nightmare came true. 
