9.12.11 Looking back-looking forward…
A pot of tea, my well worn note book, my well travelled Dell computer netbook are all in front of me while I sit on my back verandah and let my view drift to the stand of tallowood trees out in the horse paddock. Twelve short days time will mark 3 years since Hannah’s death from melanoma on 22nd December. Most of the time since then I’ve worked tirelessly to understand this disease that took Han’s young life. Discovering early in 2009 that melanoma wasn’t the one in a million disease i thought it was but rather the most prevalent cancer young people 15-25 years of age are diagnosed with in Australia. This put a fire in my belly to make a change. To help raise awareness of melanoma as a young persons disease and to raise funds to find a cure. Sitting on my verandah now i think not just back to this but to the future. Toward 2012 and the year ahead for ride4acure and the Hannah Rose Melanoma Research Fund. I’m busy applying for grants to help produce more resources for ‘Mela-What?’ the multi media presentation that’s now been seen by over 22 000 young Australians across four states. I’m working to get an online version for schools to use as follow up and as a stand alone educational resource. 2012 will hopefully see me travelling to distant places to meet up with other educators who are ‘putting melanoma on the map’ in their areas. 2012 will see me learning from them and developing further the campaign I’ve undertaken to promote skin cancer and melanoma awareness in every school in Australia. Roll on 2012.
