Melanoma Walk to Debut in Orange County

Cheryl Menchaca was shocked when a grapefruit-sized tumor was found in her mother’s intestines, with melanoma eventually traveling to her liver.

“It was really hard because my mom was not the one to get sick,” said Menchaca, a former Orange County resident who now lives in Murrieta. “She was always very energetic and full of life. It was basically like watching someone who went from 63 to 93.”

Her mother, Carol, fought melanoma, a skin cancer, almost two years before she died Nov. 20, 2011, leaving her husband and four children.

Now, Cheryl Menchaca is fighting back.

And she plans to deliver one message when she gives the keynote address at the first AIM for the CURE Melanoma Walk in California on May 12: Have hope.

Menchaca took part in the nonprofit’s Dallas walk last year, and said she wants people to believe there will one day be a cure.

“My message is to stay motivated and have hope,” she said.

Menchaca will join about 100 others Sunday, May 12, at the Fullerton Sports Complex to walk in memory of her mother.

AIM is the largest international foundation focused on melanoma research, education, awareness and legislation.

Jean Schlipmann co-founded AIM shortly after her husband died of the cancer in 2002.

She said her husband was a “healthy, thriving 44-year-old” who died just seven months after discovering he had melanoma. The lack of research available prompted her to build an organization that would offer the public information.

“I didn’t understand what melanoma was,” she said. “Every time I went on the Internet, there was nothing out there and when I found something it was about 10-15 years old. I just didn’t want other people to go through what I went through.”

Now the organization has grown to provide not only information but also funding for research into a cancer that takes thousands of lives every year.

The National Cancer Institute estimates 76,690 new cases and 9,480 deaths from the disease in 2013.

The foundation is also helping to create the first melanoma tissue bank, widely believed by the oncology community to be a key to major breakthroughs in melanoma research.

Fullerton coordinator Mayha Patel, who is also a medical student at Western University, hopes to raise at least $7,000 from the inaugural California 5K.

“We don’t have a walk in California, so we’re hoping to increase awareness and hopefully raise a lot of money,” Patel said. “We want to continue this year after year.”

Patel also wants the public to know melanoma can affect anyone and urges everyone to learn about the effects of tanning and the sun on skin.

“I think people should know that getting one sunburn as a child increases your risk of getting melanoma as an adult,” she said. “We don’t really think about our future when we’re young.”

But most important, at least for Menchaca, the walk is meant to bring together people who have been affected by melanoma and to work for a cure. The walk is one of 15 that will be held this year in 10 states.

“Just because my mom lost her battle doesn’t mean everyone will lose their battle,” she said. “We will find a cure.”

To learn more about AIM at Melanoma or join the 5K Walk, visit AIMatMelanoma.org. Registration is free but participants are encouraged to raise $50 each.