Keliana is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has always worn sunscreen and been careful of sun exposure. Her main motivation was the freckles on her face. When she was young someone teased her and said "God must have fed you a dollar and given you change in pennies on your face." Because of that comment she had always been careful not to get any more of these "pennies" on her face. Her caution towards the sun was one reason she ignored a large mole on her back. She did not see any reason to worry about the mole because she had always worn sunscreen and been careful. Finally, by the insistence of her mother, she had it removed in December 2000. A few weeks later she was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Keliana had a large section of skin removed from her back and now has a large scar. She is still fearful that her melanoma may have spread and has made plans to see a cancer specialist.

Elizabeth is a nurse at a hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. She has always taken pride in the health of her children. She made sure they had regular check-ups and received all of their vaccinations. Elizabeth even said, "My children were always well taken care of and very healthy." She never dreamed that one of her children would end up with malignant melanoma.

In September of 2000, Elizabeth took her sixteen year-old daughter, Tina, to the dermatologist for her acne. The dermatologist recommended that Tina have a mole removed from her upper leg. They scheduled an appointment for the following Monday and had the mole taken off. Three days later Elizabeth and Tina were back at the doctor's office. The pathology report had confirmed the doctor's suspicions that mole was melanoma. After a re-excision it was determined that the melanoma had spread to the deeper tissues of Tina's skin. The next step for Tina was a therapeutic lymph node dissection. Unfortunately this revealed that the melanoma had spread to her lymphatic system as well. Tina is currently undergoing chemotherapy and various immunotherapy.

Elizabeth comments on the situation, "Dealing with Tina's cancer has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do. I can't help her or cure her like I want to, instead I have to watch her suffer through the pain of chemo. I know I can't blame myself but if only I had paid more attention to her skin and caught the mole sooner. I wish I had taught her the risks of skin cancer. I now realize how important it is to pay attention to your skin. I never imagined that a little mole could have such profound impact on my family's life."