Jun 14, 2017 By Harry Funk 3 min read

The day before the initial planning session for the region’s first melanoma support group, Peters Township resident Casey Doran had chemotherapy ports implanted to help her fight against skin cancer.

“I told her, ‘If you’re not able to make it, just email me what you’d like me to share,'” Jessica Rogowicz, co-founder of the Pittsburgh Melanoma Foundation, recalled. “But she made a point of being there, and she drove herself to our meeting.”

Her presence provided plenty of incentive for the participants to follow through with establishing goals for the support group.

“There were a lot of different things that, through her experience, she wanted to share with others. She wanted to help people,” Rogowicz said. “A few weeks later, her husband shared with me that she was in hospice, and I was very shocked by this, because I had just seen her.”

The mother of three lost her battle with melanoma on Jan. 29. She was 34.

Her memory certainly lives on, as more than 160 people attended specifically to celebrate her life at the foundation’s sixth annual 5K fundraiser, which was held June 3 in South Park and drew a record 1,106 runners and walkers. Supporters on behalf of Casey, who at the time taught in Peters Township School District, started participating a few years ago.

“I noticed that someone had entered a new team, Casey’s Crew, and there were about 30 people at the time registered,” Rogowicz said. “I know that when you start to have double-digit numbers, there’s a story behind it.”

So she contacted the team’s organizer for more information.

“I learned that Casey and I had a lot in common. We were the same age, both teachers, both moms, both lived in Peters,” Rogowicz, who teaches at South Fayette Township High School, recalled.

Casey’s Crew continued to grow.

“By last year, she had around 150 people or so on her team who came out, and she was there,” Rogowicz reported. “She actually helped us with the packet pickup the day before the race. She was there for a couple of hours volunteering for us. And then she asked me if I knew of a melanoma support group in the area.”

In fact, Rogowicz and her oncologist, Dr. Howard Edington, had been talking about forming one. But, she admitted, “It kept getting put on the back burner.”

Casey, though, would ask about the progress, until finally the first meeting took place in January.

“She was definitely the driving force behind the support group, and I’ve never heard of another specific melanoma support group here in Pittsburgh,” Rogowicz said.

The group began meeting in May and is in the process of planning events for the summer and beyond. The Pittsburgh Melanoma Foundation, meanwhile, continues to raise money toward research into the most serious type of skin cancer while spreading the word about the potential dangers of exposure.

As for Rogowicz, who twice has undergone treatment for Stage 1 melanoma, the mother of two has been cancer-free for six years. She looks forward to sharing her experiences from others who can benefit, just as Casey had intended:

“I hope that she can see this, and I hope she’s proud and happy that we’re doing this.”

For more information about the support group, email jessicarogowicz@yahoo.com. Visit melanomapgh.org.