SpaFinder Melanoma Awareness

When my husband, Peter, and I became CEO and president of SpaFinder, Inc. it was immediately evident to me that our philanthropic focus would be on melanoma awareness. Unfortunately, it was the tragic and untimely passing of a dear friend and colleague that made us so acutely aware of this deadly form of skin cancer. Alex Szekely, who was president of the Golden Door and Rancho La Puerta spas-two of the most famous and popular spas in the world-died at the very young age of 43 of melanoma cancer, leaving his wife and two young children. Alex's life and our friendship were the inspiration for me to focus on melanoma as SpaFinder's focal philanthropic cause.

I worked closely with Alex for many years when he was vibrantly healthy and also when he was diagnosed with melanoma and ultimately passed away. His tragic and untimely death compelled me to learn about this deadly disease. I was shocked at what I found. There is a lot to learn, but much of it boils down to two simple precautions:
      (1) Protect yourself and your children from the sun. If you must be exposed, wear sunblock.
      (2) Check your skin regularly. See a dermatologist every third year if you're between 20 and 49, annually thereafter. Do a self-check every six to eight weeks, looking for any mole or area with the ABCDE characteristics: Asymmetry, an irregular Border, a change of Color, Dimensions larger than a pencil eraser, and Elevation.

We in the spa world, with our general concerns about health and well-being and our intimate dealings with our clients and their skin, are ideally positioned to help raise awareness and increase the cure rate.

We invite you to join SpaFinder in our pledge to spread awareness about sun damage and the importance of daily sunscreen use, self-examination, and yearly dermatologist full-body checkups with our "I Will Reflect" campaign.

• and be sun smart
• and wear sunscreen year-round
• and use a minimum of 15 SPF sunscreen
• and have an annual full-body mole check
• and share this important message with others

SpaFinder's "I Will Reflect" bracelets change color when exposed to dangerous UVA and UVB rays and were created to remind everyone of the importance of applying sunscreen daily. The idea of using photosensitive material in the form of a bracelet became the cornerstone of the "I Will Reflect" melanoma awareness campaign.

While melanoma can be fatal, if detected early, it's 95 percent curable. I learned how important early detection is-since it can save lives-and how often overexposure to sun can be a leading cause of melanoma. Please join us in helping to save lives.

To our health,

& Susie