• We need 100+ people to build and paint raised garden beds, add signs to the Underground Railroad Garden, <

• install other signage, build a compost bin and plant some cold crops.

• Prepare the site for further development.

• Closed-toe shoes, Long pants, Long sleeve shirts required

Forgotten Harvest Food Packing Registration: https://rotary6380.org/event/forgotten-harvest-food-packing-oak-park/

• District grants fund small-scale, short-term activities that address needs in your community and communities abroad.
• Global grants support large international activities with sustainable, measurable outcomes in Rotary's areas of focus.
• Disaster response grants support relief and recovery efforts in areas that have been affected by natural disaster.
• Programs of scale grants fund intentional effort by Rotary members, in partnership with others, to expand proven program models within our areas of focus in order to benefit more people and in more places and foster lasting change.

• Irregular shape
• Uneven and/or fuzzy borders with skin
• Two or more shades of brown or pink
• 1/4 inch wide or more
• Cauliflower or smooth surface
• Flat edges with "fried egg" center if  mole is raised

In most cases, melanoma is easy to self-detect at an early stage while it is curable by simple surgical excision. Although the visual appearance of a skin lesion (a growth or mark) is often an indication of melanoma, you cannot always rely on this alone. You should also be aware of the history of your skin lesions—any changes that occur in them, as well the onset of any new ones. The only way to develop this awareness is by regular self-examination of your skin.

 

Warning signs of Melanoma are any of these should prompt an immediate visit to a dermatologist or plastic surgeon: 

 

• Any change in a mole, blemish, freckle, birthmark, or pigmented area
• A new mole or freckle that appears out of the blue or is growing rapidly, especially if you don't have many moles, or the new mole or freckle looks different from those you do have
• A mole or other growth that has any of the ABCD properties or all of the EFG properties
• A change in surface texture or in the way a mole feels to the touch
• A new "freckle" that is dark, dry, or scaly
• A pigmented area or splotch that is new or that you don't remember seeing before
• A new spot that is black, even if very small
• A mole or other spot that looks or behaves differently than those around it, even if it seems otherwise normal
• A mole or other spot that itches and/or bleeds
• Redness, other color, or shadow extending into the surrounding skin

There are two types of melanoma: radial and nodular. Radial melanomas are easier to self-detect because they grow in diameter near the skin surface before growing downward through the skin. Radial melanomas usually have two or more of the ABCD properties.

 

About 20 percent of melanomas begin the dangerous vertical growth phase with little or no radial growth first. For these nodular melanomas the ABCD properties do not apply; instead they have three combined EFG properties.

 

E = ELEVATED-  Early elevation above the skin surface

 

F = FIRM- Firm to the touch, not flabby

 

G = GROWING- Continues growing more than two to three weeks

 

Any of the following warning signs may indicate a nodular melanoma: 

 

• The start of a new bump in a mole, freckle, blemish, or birthmark.
• The start of a thickness increase in a previously flat or slightly raised mole.
• In otherwise clear skin, the beginning of a bump that looks like a blood blister, bubble, or pimple that continues to grow after two to three weeks, especially if you don't ordinarily have pimples and haven't injured yourself at the site of the blood blister.

Although a nodular melanoma can arise in a pre-existing mole, it is more common for one to develop spontaneously from normal skin, as in the four photos above. All of these were fatal. The colors of nodular melanomas are usually black, blue-black, dark brown, or brown-red. However, occasionally they are red (third photo from left), pink, grey, flesh-tone, or light to medium brown (far right photo, from the ankle of a 12-year-old boy). Nodular melanomas are typically dome-shaped and lacking in the ABCD properties, making visual diagnosis more difficult than with radial melanomas.

 

How Much Time Do You Have to Act?

 

• Nodular melanomas can spread internally in as little as three months.
• Most radial melanomas can spread internally within 6 to 18 months from the first noticeable change of a pre-existing mole or appearance of a new mole.
• Radial melanomas that develop from age or liver spots (which typically occur in people 70 or older) can take as long as 10 to 15 years to spread internally.

Steve described to the club "how to find Melanoma."

 

What you'll need:

 

• Flashlight
• Two small chairs or stools
• Hand mirror with a long handle
• Hairbrush or blow dryer for checking your scalp
• Large wall mirror, preferably full-length, in a well-lighted area

How to check:

1. Facing the wall mirror, examine your face including lips, ears, and eyes. Use a flashlight to check inside your mouth, nostrils, and ears. Check your neck, shoulders, and upper chest. Women should also check under breasts.
2. Using both mirrors, check behind your ears, neck, and upper back. While parting your hair with the blow dryer or brush, use both mirrors to check your scalp—front, back, and sides. Or have a partner or family member help.
3. Check your abdomen, front and sides. Use the hand mirror to check your mid- to lower back carefully. (The back is the most common site of melanomas in males.) Use the hand mirror or both mirrors to check all areas of your buttocks and genitals, including hidden parts.
4. Raise both of your arms and check all sides of your arms and hands, including between fingers and under fingernails. Then check under your arms and the sides of your upper body.
5. Sitting on a small chair or stool, prop each leg in turn on the other chair or stool. Check all sides of your legs from ankles to thighs. Check your feet, including the tops, heels, soles, between toes, and under toenails. (Legs are the most common sites of melanomas in females.)