Melanoma Research Alliance Foundation

Hi, I’m Bryn Snyder. This November, I’m running the Richmond Marathon to celebrate being two years cancer-free (!!)—and to raise money for the Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA), whose work helped save my life.

The TL;DR:

If you want the full story…

My Journey

In May 2023, at 31 years old, I found a lump under my arm that doctors first thought was nothing. But a few weeks later, after an ultrasound (just to be sure!), a biopsy, and the most dramatic phone call of my life, I learned it was Stage 3C melanoma.

The news was a total shock. One: because there was no mole, no spot on my skin. Two: because I’ve never tanned and have always been careful about sun protection (seriously… you should see my baseball hat collection!). But I’ve learned that’s one of the scary things about melanoma: it can start silently, and by the time it’s found, already be advanced. In my case, it was just bad luck.

Soon after, I was in a clinical trial, juggling weekly injections of a new drug and immunotherapy.

Those months were brutal—there were weeks where I could barely get off the couch, times when I survived on applesauce and ginger ale, countless ER visits, and more procedures than I can count. Luckily, I had my family and friends by my side, a team of amazing doctors at VCU and UVA, and an opportunity to binge all 7 seasons of Game of Thrones. (Rightfully, I named my tumor Joffrey.) But by October 2023, after surgery to remove all of the lymph nodes under my left arm, I got the best birthday gift ever: my doctor told me all the tissue they removed was totally dead cancer. TAKE THAT, JOFFREY!

Since then, I’ve finished a year of targeted therapy, and now I’m celebrating one year off treatment and two years cancer-free. Sometimes I truly can’t believe how far I’ve come.

Celebrating receiving my seventh (and last!) injection of the clinical trial drug. (And experimenting with hospital #fashion.)

Why This Cause Matters

Every single medication I received during my treatment was developed in just the decade before my diagnosis. Some of the protocols my doctors followed were based on studies published weeks before I started treatment. Without that research—and without organizations like MRA pushing it forward—I honestly don’t know if I’d still be here.

The Melanoma Research Alliance funds groundbreaking science and accelerates the timeline from research to real-world treatment. They are also one of the few organizations focused on developing treatments for advanced, rare, and treatment-resistant melanomas. During my treatment, my doctors told me not to look at statistics online because patient outcomes were changing so quickly. That’s a testament to how organizations like MRA are transforming survival rates in real time.

Why I’m Running

After a year and a half of feeling like my body wasn’t mine—treatments, side effects, hospital visits—running has been my way of reclaiming my strength. Training for this marathon is about proving to myself that I’m back in charge of my body, but it’s also about honoring the researchers, doctors, and community who got me here.

Join Me!

Your donation, no matter the size (even $10 helps!), will help MRA fund the next breakthrough, the next clinical trial, and give more people the kind of outcome I was lucky to have.

Thank you for cheering me on—on the course and in this mission! I can't put into words how lucky I feel to be here—healthy enough to run a marathon and grateful for the chance to give back. You all are the best!

Hi, my name is Karen and in February 2023 I was diagnosed with Uveal melanoma, a rare and deadly eye cancer. In April of 2023 I had my eye removed and was told by the oncologist at Boston Mass that since uveal melanoma is such a rare cancer, it doesn’t receive the same funding as the more common cancers. Therefore treatment options are limited. He also stated that I had an 80 percent chance that it would spread to my liver and his best advice was to do everything i could to stay alive because there will be new treatments in the future. Unfortunately a year later the cancer spread to my liver. I was given a new FDA approved treatment to treat my liver but had to stop due to low blood counts.

At one point, I was promised access to a groundbreaking clinical trial exploring mRNA therapy. Messenger RNA (mRNA) technology is unlike anything we’ve seen before in cancer treatment. It uses genetic instructions to activate the immune system to seek and destroy cancer cells. It’s precise, targeted, and has the potential to cure cancer.

I was so excited that my Dr. was leading the way for mRNA clinical trials for uveal melanoma. But suddenly, that hope was taken away. The mRNA research that held promise for a cure was defunded — cut by $500 million. The same technology that saved millions during the pandemic and has revolutionized medicine was abandoned for cancer research, leaving people like me without a lifeline.

This defunding means I must now face painful, toxic clinical trials that might only offer limited time, rather than the possibility of a true cure. This is why I’m reaching out today: not just for myself but for everyone battling uveal melanoma who deserves more than just hope — they deserve action.

Because uveal melanoma is so rare, research funding has always been scarce. Now, with crucial mRNA research programs slashed, that scarcity has turned into a crisis. My goal is to raise $20 million to restart this vital research, fund clinical trials, and bring back a chance for patients like me to fight smarter, not just harder.

Please help me turn this devastating cut into an opportunity for hope. Your support will fund the scientists who refuse to give up and fund the treatments patients desperately need. Together, we can push back against the cuts and prove that rare diseases deserve real cures.

Every dollar brings us closer to a future where no one has to endure painful treatments without better options, and where mRNA therapies can become the new standard not only for uveal melanoma care but for all cancers. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for standing with me and the thousands of others who need a second chance.

We created this GoFundMe page—Gabby, Irina and myself,—to raise money for skin cancer research and to bring greater awareness to just how serious this disease can be.

This cause is especially close to our hearts. Irina’s mom passed away from skin cancer, and her loss has left a lasting impact on all of us. Watching someone we love go through this has shown us how urgently we need better research, better treatments, and ultimately, a cure.

This fundraiser is both a tribute to Irina’s mom and a call to action. We want to ensure that fewer families go through the pain we've witnessed. With your support, we can help fund the kind of research that saves lives.

Every donation, no matter the size, brings us one step closer to that goal. Thank you for standing with us.

-Irina, Gabby, Virginie