Jay Allen, the man behind the Aussie solarium ban, shares his melanoma story
Conquering Skin Cancer
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5m 15s
After religiously using solariums throughout his twenties, a tiny, bleeding
mole on his ankle changed Jay’s life forever. It was melanoma, and it was a
wake-up call.
Following his melanoma diagnosis, Jay began campaigning to ban solariums; from meeting media in cafes, to grasping a raw chicken in one hand and a cooked one in the other to illustrate to his community cabinet meeting how damaging solariums were.
Eventually, his unconventional methods were rewarded, and solariums were banned.
Australian Skin Cancer Foundation was Jay’s next mission. Founded in 2021,
they have since raised millions of dollars through their Forest Gump-esque
awareness walks, traversing incredible treks from Adelaide to Sydney,
Canberra to Melbourne, and Merimbula to Melbourne.
Skin check trucks and clinical trials are just some of the other foundation initiatives- and Jay wakes up every day motivated by friends he has lost to melanoma along the way.
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