When caught early enough, treating melanoma can be one of the few cinches in cancer: An excision, a bandage, and a patient could be on their way home.
But late-stage melanoma presents an entirely different picture, with 34.6 percent five-year relative survival for stage 4 disease.
With melanoma incidence on the rise—especially among young adults—the Friends of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Foundation are gathering for the annual Party with a Purpose to support further research even as they celebrate the progress that melanoma researchers have already made.
This year’s scientific honorees will receive grants for their melanoma research from the funds raised by the Party with a Purpose.
Every year, the Party with a Purpose honors individuals whose experiences with cancer, be they scientific or humanitarian, have allowed them to advocate for new research and treatments.
Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, director of the Tara Miller Melanoma Center at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center. (Submitted photo)
The 2025 honorees are:
Scientific Achievement Honoree: Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, director of the Tara Miller Melanoma Center at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center.
Early Career Investigator Honoree: Alexander Huang, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. Schuchter, a senior colleague of Huang, nominated him for the honor.
Alexander Huang, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. (Submitted photo)
Humanitarian Honoree: Patricia D. Wellenbach, immediate past president and CEO of the Please Touch Museum and immediate past board chair of Thomas Jefferson University/Jefferson Health. Wellenbach is herself a cancer survivor.
Patricia D. Wellenbach, immediate past president and CEO of the Please Touch Museum and immediate past board chair of Thomas Jefferson University/Jefferson Health. (Submitted photo)
New to the Party with a Purpose this year is the Community Impact Award, which will be presented to the Tara Miller Melanoma Foundation.
Founded in 2014 by attorney Tara Miller after she received a melanoma diagnosis, the foundation has since partnered with Schuchter to fund innovative melanoma research. Miller passed away that same year at 29 years old, but the foundation that bears her name continues its work in raising money for further melanoma research.
The 2025 Party with a Purpose will be held starting at 5 p.m. on Oct. 26 at the Hilton Philadelphia at Penns Landing. To learn more about AACR or to donate visit aacr.org