Giving Compass' Take:

• Seattle Children's shares 17-year-old Ruth Garcia's story about being diagnosed with melanoma, her surgery — and now getting back to doing what she loves: photography.

• What are the challenges young cancer patients face outside treatment? How can nonprofits help them find some normalcy?

• Check out this article about cancer research and the ways philanthropy can make a difference. 

During seventh-grade gym class, Ruth Garcia remembers a friend pointing out a black mole she had on her left knee. Ruth didn’t think much about it until two years ago, when she began to feel pain in her knee and noticed that the mole had grown and changed colors to gray and red.

“That’s when I started to worry more,” said Ruth, now 17.

In spring 2016, Ruth’s mother took her to see her primary care provider near the family’s home in Walla Walla, Washington. They did a biopsy on the mole, and she was diagnosed with spitzoid melanoma. Ruth was referred to Seattle Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.

A child born in the U.S. has about a one in 40 chance of developing melanoma during their lifetime. Seattle Children’s sees about six children a year who were either misclassified with melanoma or have spitzoid melanoma. The cause of spitzoid melanoma is unknown.

Read the full article about recovering after melanoma by Lyra Fontaine at Seattle's Childrens.