Melanoma man Jay Allen OAM is ready to put his walking shoes on again and raise awareness for melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers.
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The Bowral resident will walk from Canberra to Sydney on Friday, November 25, on a journey that is set to last 10 days.
"We're raising awareness for everyone to get regular skin checks," he said
"And also to get second or third opinions if you're not happy with the first one."
Earlier this year Jay launched the Mission Melanoma campaign.
"We raised a lot of money," he said.
"We donated $100,000 to kick off the BETTER trial and it's when melanoma spreads to the brain. We are hoping to give patients more options."
In 2008, at the young age of 32, Jay was diagnosed with stage three melanoma which had spread to his lymph nodes.
He was then diagnosed with throat cancer in 2021, days after he was awarded an OAM for his cancer advocacy.
A further six full-time walkers will join Jay, as well as 12 road crew and four support vehicles as he hopes to raise $250,000 towards research and education.
He's already raised $1250,000 for skin cancer research.
Jay is also on the board of the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation charity, which he founded in 2022.
"We've got four pillars at the Australian Skin Cancer Foundation," he said.
"The first one is advocacy. We want to try and advocate that so all patients and people can have more access to more affordable skin checks, eventually making them accessible.
"The second pillar is education, which we want to raise awareness with the walk.
"The third pillar is research. We want to fund the fund clinical trials.
"The fourth pillar is support. We want to ensure no one goes through the skin cancer and melanoma journey alone."
Jay will start his 10-day trek in Canberra on November 25 and will walk through Braidwood, Batemans Bay, Nowra, and Wollongong and will finish at Government House, Sydney on December 4.
You can donate to Jay's walk here: https://www.mycause.com.au/events/jaysmissionmelanomawalk
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Vera Demertzis
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
