Running For Melanoma Research

When Susan Fazio succumbed to melanoma cancer in 2005 her family found a way to use her experience to help others with her condition.

The Susan Fazio Foundation for Melanoma Research held its second annual Run Against Melanoma 5K Run-Walk and One Mile Walk this Sunday, where over 150 participants gathered at Simmons Elementary School to show their support.

Since Fazio’s husband and four children created the foundation five years ago, it has raised over $300,000 for melanoma research, donating grants to the University of Pennsylvania, Thomas Jefferson University, Hershey Medical Center and the University of San Francisco.

“We wanted to keep her memory alive and to do something positive in light of that terrible tragedy,” said her husband Joe Fazio.

According to Fazio’s daughter Cara Mundell, they hope to expand the foundation and continue to raise funds for research grants. “It’s hard work but it’s a labor of love because of my mom,” said Mundell.

The foundation fundraisers have included golf outings, dinners and races. This fall will see a dinner auction in Fort Washington and a 5K race in Bergen County, New Jersey.

“I feel good. I’m in Iron Man training, so this was a sprint for me,” said John King-Marino, who came in first with a time of 17 minutes and 35 seconds.

King-Marino’s wife works for the Thomas Jefferson University dermatology department. All of his family participated in the event.

Also racing was Dr. Vitali Alexeev, a Thomas Jefferson melanoma researcher who received one of the Fazio foundation grants.

According to Alexeev, melanoma is the deadliest of all skin cancers and is difficult to eradicate after it has metastasized. “Out of all of the cancers melanoma is under-researched,” Alexeev said. “And it is one of the fastest-growing cancers in the U.S.”

Melanoma education is an important part of eradicating the cancer, and foundations like Fazio play a major role, he added.