Welcome

The sun.

It is essential to life on Earth, provides energy and drives the Earth’s climate and weather. Recreationalists love it. Colorado enjoys over 300 days a year of it. Doctors say don’t get too much of it.

On a sunny day, millions of Americans can be found riding their bikes down the trail, pushing the stroller through the park, lounging at the beach, working construction, skiing the slopes or studying outside. And most of these people are unaware of the dangers the sun and its UV rays possess.  One of these dangers is Melanoma – a real threat, especially to college-aged adults in Colorado.

Melanoma is one of the rarer types of skin cancer, but causes the majority of skin cancer related deaths. Sixty-five thousand new cases of melanoma are diagnosed every year and nearly 11,000 die annually from the disease.

Our team of journalists created this package to inform college students the potential dangers of the sun. May is melanoma awareness month and we live in one of the most-at risk areas for developing melanoma. One of our team members, Madalyn McElwain, works as an advocate for the Bill Walter III Walter Melanoma Research Fund and each team member enjoys spending time outdoors.

This site includes statistics on the dangers of melanoma, the warning signs that point to a diagnosis of melanoma and stories from students and Ft. Collins residents about how melanoma has affected their lives.