IMAGES

Marc Bence, The
Journal

Gillian Richardson holds
a teddy bear named after her husband, who died of melanoma cancer at the
age of 23.

Woman takes up shade crusade after melanoma kills her
husband
The Edmonton Journal
Thu 30 Mar
2006
Page: B1 / Front
Section: CityPlus
Byline: Susan Ruttan

Dateline: EDMONTON
Source: The Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON. - The most deadly form of skin cancer robbed
Gillian Richardson of her husband just two months after they were married last
fall.

"Melanoma's very aggressive and grows very rapidly, so you have to catch it
early," she said. "If you don't, there's not really any treatment."

Gillian, 23, learned that by watching Jeremy Richardson, her boyfriend and
later her husband, die.

Jeremy, a top lacrosse and hockey player from St. Albert, was diagnosed in
the fall of 2003. He died Nov. 5 at age 23.

Gillian knows a lot about skin cancer. Last spring, inspired by Jeremy's
struggle, she and her sister, Jennifer Rauw, began preparing a 45-minute lecture
about sun exposure and skin cancer. Gillian is a third-year pharmacy student at
the University of Alberta, and Jennifer is a second-year medical student.

The sisters ran their presentation past local dermatologist Dr. Barry Lycka,
founder of the new Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation. Then Gillian delivered the
talk to students at a number of St. Albert schools last May and June.

Now the sisters have expanded their project. They've recruited U of A
students to take the message to school children in the Edmonton area over the
next three months.

About 100 students from pharmacy, medicine and nursing will give the
presentations, said Gillian.

She wants elementary students to know that bad sunburns in childhood can
cause skin cancer years later. She wants high school students to stop going to
tanning salons.

"Lots of teens go to tanning salons," said Gillian. "Unfortunately, I did
too. When I was in Grade 12 I went tanning before grad."

Jeremy's cancer was already advanced when a lump on his neck was diagnosed as
melanoma. Doctors tried surgery, radiation and the drug Interferon, then told
him there was nothing more they could do.

Jeremy turned to clinical trials in the United States, in hopes of finding a
cure.

"As something would fail we would try something else," Gillian said.

By their Sept. 3 wedding day, he was in so much pain the couple scrapped
their Maui honeymoon, and Jeremy soon returned to the U.S. for more surgery.

"They found more tumours, one in his liver." After that, Jeremy declined
rapidly and died less than two months later.

Gillian keeps many reminders of Jeremy in her apartment -- the leather
armchair he bought last fall, a stack of wedding photos still not organized into
an album, a little teddy bear with a "Jeremy" sweater she calls "my Jer-bear."

Most of all, she has her commitment to raising awareness about skin cancer.

The sisters hope to make their campaign a national one, with the help of the
Canadian Federation of Medical Students.

[email-masked]

DARK SIDE OF THE SUN

- There are three main kinds: malignant melanoma, basal cell cancer and
squamous cell cancer. Basal cell and squamous cell can usually be treated
successfully.

- Incidence of melanoma, the most deadly form, is on the rise.

- An estimated 4,400 Canadians were diagnosed with melanoma in 2005, and 880
died.

Source: Canadian Cancer Society

Illustration:
• Colour Photo: Marc Bence, The
Journal / Gillian Richardson holds a teddy bear named after her husband, who
died of melanoma cancer at the age of 23.
• Graphic/Diagram: Journal Stock /
(See hard copy for graphic).

Edition: Final
Story Type: News
Note: Ran with
fact box "Dark Side Of The Sun", which has been appended to this story.

Length: 508 words