Welcome to Dear Melanoma

Hi, I’m Leon, Emma’s dad. By now I'm sure you've heard that Emma passed away in April 2017. Before she died, Emma asked Tamra (Emma's mum) and I to take over Dear Melanoma. She had witnessed phenomenal progress in cancer treatment since her diagnosis, and although too late for her, she hoped others could be spared her fate. So, always thinking of others, it was Emma's dying wish that Dear Melanoma would continue to promote sun safe behaviour and raise funds for melanoma research.

Tamra and I have accepted the challenge! But we realise Dear Melanoma won't be the same without Emma. She was a powerful writer, and I can't promise the same level of elegance in my blogs. But we do share her passion for promoting sun safe behaviour and melanoma research. And we certainly want to spare others the agony of losing a precious loved one. Therefore, I'm hoping that our passion and the importance of continuing Emma's legacy will provide some compensation. So be gentle on us...and remember we are only on our training wheels!

As you can imagine, it’s hard coming to terms with Emma’s death. So at this point I'm just not ready to relegate Emma to the past tense. I'm sure that a little further down the track such a change will make more sense. But for now, Emma’s introduction will remain just as she wrote it.

So let’s start again. Welcome to Dear Melanoma?

Hello there! My name is Emma Betts and I'd like to welcome you to my life and Dear Melanoma.

Dear Melanoma is an honest account of my 24 year old life with Stage 4 Melanoma, which is a terminal diagnosis. It's all about the hopeful and happy highs, the heartbreaking lows, and everything in-between. Yes, you'll probably cry...but I'll make you laugh, too. Pinkie promise!

Please join me. I want you to be part of my life. Celebrate the wins. Comfort me when the not-so-good happens.

Most importantly, I want you to join me to make a difference. I want you to practice sun safe behaviour. I want you to teach your children to be sun smart. I want you to be an advocate for increased access to treatment options. I want you to help me raise money for research.

I want your help.

No, actually, I NEED your help.

I'm in this for the long haul. Are you with me?

Emma x