Paying It Forward

At Winship, acts of generosity are inspiring research, promoting prevention, and offering hope for healthier futures.

Consider Neil Gaines, who has raised $76,000 for Winship melanoma research.

“Skin cancer wasn’t anywhere on my radar when doctors removed an ugly mole on my back seven years ago,” says Gaines, who was then 23 and a recent University of Georgia graduate with a new job and a new love. “I didn’t know what melanoma was or its severity.”

The most common cancer in 25- to 29-year-olds, melanoma is more likely to spread to other parts of the body than other skin cancers. Gaines has endured five surgeries and multiple treatments. In his fifth year of remission from stage IV mela-