About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of melanoma awareness and prevention, featuring Leah Adams' personal story as a melanoma survivor.

In this episode, I’m sharing why melanoma awareness has become so important to me. Between recently losing an old family friend to melanoma, having my own skin cancer scare when a spot on my leg thankfully turned out to be benign, and my mom’s history with melanoma, it was a real wake-up call. Those experiences made me realize how important it is to have this conversation and remind everyone that early detection saves lives. I hope this episode encourages you to protect your skin, schedule regular skin checks, and never ignore changes you notice, because it truly could make all the difference. I’m joined by Leah Adams, a melanoma survivor, long-distance runner, and mental health advocate from Cleveland, who shares her incredible story of being diagnosed with stage 1A malignant melanoma at just 26 years old. Leah opens up about years of tanning bed use, skipping sunscreen, and the surgery and sentinel lymph node biopsy that ultimately confirmed her cancer had not spread. Together, we discuss the dangers of tanning culture, the alarming rise in melanoma among younger adults, the trend of "tan maxxing," and the misinformation circulating online about UV exposure and sunscreen. Leah…

People in this episode

Host: unknown

Guest: Leah Adams

Topics covered

• melanoma awareness
• skin cancer prevention
• early detection
• tanning culture
• sun safety
• mental health advocacy

Keywords

• melanoma
• skin cancer
• early detection
• tanning beds
• sunscreen
• sun safety
• mental health

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Cleveland

More episodes of Judging Meghan

• The Tiger of Beijing: Dr. Joy Kong on Resilience, Healing, and Stem Cell Therapy · July 21, 2026 · 57 min
• The Glow Is an Inside Job: Founder Michelle Crosby on Wellness-First Beauty · July 7, 2026 · 1h 1m
• ADHD coach Sam Led explains adult ADHD, hyperfocus, rejection sensitivity, emotional dysregulation, anxiety, CPTSD overlap, and why your brain isn't broken. · June 30, 2026 · 1h 5m
• The Hidden Pain of Adult Bullying and Friendship Loss with Dr. Noelle Santorelli (Revisited) · June 23, 2026 · 1h 4m
• The Weight of Walking Away- Losing my Brother to Addiction with Hayley Spitaleri · June 16, 2026 · 1h 8m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Judging Meghan podcast page.