At the 12th edition of the March4Meg 5K Fun Walk, patrons may run. They may choose to walk.
They may learn about melanoma, and they may even have their lives saved.
The event, scheduled for Saturday in Evergreen Park, will feature an 11 a.m. walk at Yukich Field, 8900 S. Kedzie Ave. But before that, organizers are offering free skin screenings with three dermatologists on site at 10 a.m. at the Evergreen Park Fire Department, 9000 S. Kedzie Ave.
That’s where lives could be saved.
Co-founder Nancy Donovan said the screenings have been a part of the event from the start. It’s an effort to detect cancer before it gets serious and deadly.
“One woman in particular comes up and thanks me every year,” Donovan said. “She came to the skin screening and was diagnosed with melanoma. Some don’t know they have it until they are diagnosed. Several people have thanked me for this.”
It’s not a whole body scan but it can find out is there is something “suspicious” Donovan said.
“Then, they can go to a dermatologist for more testing,” she said. “It’s a good thing.”
The event, named after Donovan’s daughter Meg (Donovan) Moonan, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years for melanoma education, as well as financially helping families of people who have melanoma.
Meg died of melanoma in 2012. Her twin sister, Maureen had it. Nancy Donovan’s three sisters also had it.
However, Nancy, 81, was spared.
“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “So many people around me had it.”
Melanoma is a skin cancer that can occur anywhere on a person’s boy, according to the Understanding Cancer Together website. For men, it can usually be found anywhere from the shoulders to the hips.
In women, it usually occurs in the arms and legs, according to the website.
According to Nancy Donovan, Meg attended St. Thomas More School and Maria High School. She married Ken Moonan and they had four children and the family members became parishioners at Holy Redeemer in Evergreen Park.
Meg was diagnosed with melanoma in August, 2010 and had two surgeries plus several chemotherapy treatments. The family said she had 16 hospital stays but lost the battle when she died on March 30, 2012.
Shortly thereafter, the annual walk was born. Saturday’s event will take place on the 12th anniversary of her death. It’s held every year on the final Saturday of March.
“When she died, we were all paralyzed by this melanoma and what happened to her,” Nancy Donovan said. “We needed to do something that would help get ourselves together and we wanted to educate people because we were so shocked by what happened. It happened so fast.”
The first run/walk was one year after Meg’s death, March 30, 2013.
Nancy had no idea how successful it would become.
“Not in your wildest dreams,” she said. “The first year, there were like a thousand people who came. We could not believe it.”
It turned huge with sponsorships, registrations and over a hundred volunteers.
Since COVID-19 hit, Nancy said the event has been scaled down. She said the March4Meg receives so many donations from people who do not even show up for the event, it was time to make it low-key.
“We have toned it down, so to speak,” she said. “It was so big. But now it’s been different. We don’t have to do as much because people donate so we are making it more casual and fun.
“It’s more of a fun walk.”
While each event comes with the reminder of the sadness at the loss of Meg Moonan, Nancy Donovan enjoys the good that the event does and the support it receives.
“It brings back wonderful memories every year,” she said. “I’m so touched by the people who come. It’s wonderful that people still come and think about Meg.
“All my kids are there. My grandchildren are there. My granddaughter is giving the prayer this year. It’s a very heartwarming event for all of us.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
