My name is Emily,
and I am 15 years
old. My father died
from Melanoma when
I was 5 years old.
My dad, Patrick, was
33. He, like Kate,
was in many studies
at the National Institute
of Health. He also
wanted to help find
a cure. However, it
was too late for him.
We spent many hours
at NIH's playroom.
My dad had to stay
there a lot, so that's
where we could go
and play with him
instead of staying
in a hospital room.
Children with cancer
also used this room
to play. I have many
good memories.
My dad was not alone
in his batle against
cancer. I would like
to help others like
me - who have lost
someone they love
- fight for a cure.
Kate Spisak
was 33 (just
like my dad)
when she passed.
Kate was also
a patient at
the NIH. She
and my father
had the same
doctor, and
she went through
many of the
same things
that we did. For every
donation made
for one of my
handcrafted
Melanoma Awareness
bracelets, I
will donate
a part of the
proceeds to
Kate's Foundation
to help their
support of NIH's
cancer research.
