Last summer, my close to perfect little world suddenly got a wake-up call. After running a half marathon in Vancouver, the Lululemon Seawheeze half, I returned home two days later was told I had Melanoma and needed surgery right away. I was completely in denial, how could this be? I had a full marathon in five weeks with 30 running partners in Washington State. I felt fine and had no symptoms of being sick.

Let me back up, I had discovered a tiny mole on my back (under my bra strap) it was round, not irregular shaped, not itchy, not irritated, etc, in other words, it didn’t bother me a bit. It had changed colors from beige to black, and I just happened to notice this change while getting dressed one morning looking at my backside! My husband had noticed it a while back but didn’t realize that a color change was a bad thing. The dermatologist performed a biopsy, then called me the following day and confirmed her suspicions with me, it was indeed invasive melanoma, stage 2.

Thankfully, all the cancer was removed, and I gained a huge battle scar on my back that looks like I donated a kidney or got stabbed in the back. What I also gained was the knowledge and awareness of this deadly and rising cancer. Now I stress the importance of sun protection for my family and friends. Since being diagnosed, several friends have had moles checked, one discovered she had stage 1 cancer. I definitely dodged a bullet, and I am so grateful to God that he’s given me more time on earth. I feel it’s my obligation to spread the word whenever and however possible.  

This is why I applied to become an ambassador for this beautiful sporty clothing line. Stefani (CEO and co-founder of Tri Sirena) puts sun protection in her clothes, and they are high quality and well made! I am grateful for the opportunity to represent these products.

I did end up running that marathon five weeks later with my friends in Washington (I finished last amongst my friends) but I wasn’t running for “time”, I was running to celebrate life.

Written by Leanne Rosser, Siren Luminary

Follow Leanne on Instagram! @lulurunstexas