Susan Drinker Patient Profile

Susan Drinker loved lying out in the sun. As a college student at the University of Denver in the late 1960s, Susan would organize her class schedule around the best times of the day to get a tan.

"I could tan so well people sometimes thought I was Native American," she said.

Fast forward to July 2005 -- Susan, now an accomplished professional photographer, was working on an evening photo shoot on the top of Aspen Mountain in Colorado.

"A lot of mosquitoes and no insect repellent saved my life," she said. "The next day as I was itching the host of bites around my left ankle, I saw the mole and knew immediately it was no good."

Susan's mole was only the size of a pea, but it was raised and dark with a network of blood vessels surrounding it. An exam with a dermatologist showed the mole was cancerous.

Susan, at the age of 58, was diagnosed with stage III melanoma. A sentinel node biopsy found the cancer had progressed into her lymphatic tissue.

"I said silent goodbyes, cried a lot, felt really sorry for myself and generally wallowed in excruciating misery," she said. "Then one day I woke up and got to the business of survival."

Susan underwent surgery and four chemotherapy sessions - each five days long - with an IV drip running nonstop through her body.

"They did everything under the sun for me to fight the cancer," she said.

Susan's body was resilient during the six-month treatment process. She was able to keep up with her photography until her last treatment that left her sick to her stomach for a week.

Three years after her diagnosis, Susan is back to her normal life, but says the effects of chemotherapy on her brain still make it tough for her to remember details such as people's names, titles or locations.

She's turned her skin cancer experience into her life's purpose, using her talents to bring awareness to skin cancer detection and prevention. She was selected as the photographer for the American Academy of Dermatology's (Academy) skin cancer public service advertisement (PSA) campaign because of her most recent documentary project, Putting a Face on CancerSM. Since 2006, Susan has been taking portraits of survivors of all types of cancer. She's coupling those with quotes chosen by the subjects that reflect the appreciation for life, the courage of battling invisible foes, and the joy of regaining a healthy body. The idea for the project came through a conversation with a friend of hers who is a breast cancer survivor.

"It's very cathartic to be with other survivors -- such an amazingly uplifting, positive experience. I think it will be a lifelong project."

Susan's more than 140 portraits so far. She says getting to know the young survivors featured in the Academy's campaign, Brittany Lietz and Meghan Rothschild, opened up her eyes to how many people are unaware of the dangers of UV exposure until it's too late.

"There are a lot of people out there who don't understand what the price of UV exposure is and how they will pay that price," she said. "And, people my age think they've dodged the bullet if they haven't been diagnosed with skin cancer. The danger is always there lurking."

Susan's now committed to taking care of her body by monitoring her nutrition and protecting her skin by wearing sunscreen daily, especially important with the Colorado sun and altitude. She also regularly checks her skin for suspicious moles and sees a melanoma specialist every three months.

"This photo shoot proves you can be absolutely stark-raving beautiful without a tan," Susan said. "Being tan is not equal to being pretty. As more and more beautiful people embrace their natural skin color, the peer pressure to tan will decrease."