Nearly 8 years ago, Carle Place resident Mark Rogan noticed a small, unfamiliar brown blotch on his face. "It wasn't a mole or raised. It was more like a coffee stain that was smaller than my pinky fingernail," said Rogan. "My wife said she didn't remember ever seeing [it and] I assured her it was always there but when we pulled out some pictures from two years earlier it wasn't."

He agreed, reluctantly, to go see a dermatologist and although it appeared to be nothing, a biopsy of the blotch tested positive for malignant melanoma, insitu. While melanoma, or skin cancer, can be deadly, insitu meant it could be easily removed surgically without the need for additional treatment. However, Rogan, then 45, was not completely out of the woods.

Results from the biopsy and the initial pathology report sent to the Armed Forces Department of Pathology in Washington, DC for further review determined that the biopsy didn't show clear margins, meaning, said Rogan, it hadn't all been removed and he had to undergo a wide area excision at New York University. He underwent a procedure in which a large area of his cheek was removed and replaced with a flap of skin from his neck. At the same time, doctors performed a sentinel node biopsy through which radioactive dye is injected in and around the initial biopsy site and a Geiger counter was used to find the first lymph node the dye drains to. The node is then removed for testing.

According to Rogan, the node tested positive, meaning he officially had Stage III, Clarke's Level IV Melanoma. "It was pretty serious stuff," Rogan told The Westbury Times. "About a month later I was scheduled for a modified, radical neck dissection where all the lymph glands and some muscle tissue were removed from the right side of my neck. The surgeon reopened the scare on my face and continued it all the way to my shoulder and down my neck past my clavicle [and] removed 92 lymph glands and a large piece of muscle."

Rogan immediately began high-dose Interferon and went to the hospital every day for 30 days straight to receive the drug in IV form. He suffered from side effects that included chills and flu-like symptoms along with serious depression. For the past eight years he has gone for CT Scans, PET Scans, chest X-rays and follow up exams at NYU every three to six months and sees his dermatologist four times a year as well.

"Every now and then they find another suspicious patch or mole and remove it. Almost always it comes back as pre-cancerous and sometimes as melanoma. Whenever it requires it a plastic surgeon will remove large sections. If they get clear margins that's all that's needed. If it doesn't return to the same original spot, I remain Stage III officially," Rogan said.

Rogan, now 52, is married to his high school sweetheart Denise for 32 years. "We started dating when we were 15 and [attended] Carle Place High School," he said. Together, they have two children, Lindsay, a teacher, and Zachary, a mechanic for Skip Barber Racing. He is the founder and CEO of Honey Advertising, Inc. in Carle Place, is involved with the Long Island Association and, about two years ago, decided to take his first-hand experience with skin cancer and his desire to increase awareness a step further.

Rogan became involved with the Colette Coyne Melanoma Awareness Campaign (CCMAC) and currently sits on the foundation's board. "I had a couple of new melanomas discovered/removed and it spurred me to get involved with some type of group to help spread the word about the dangers of melanoma," he said.

CCMAC was established in 1998 in response to the death of 30-year-old Colette Marie Brigid Coyne. Through the efforts of her family, friends and co-workers touched by Colette's life the foundation was established with the hope that others and their loved ones will be spared the pain and suffering of the deadly disease melanoma. "Personally, I never knew what melanoma was until I was diagnosed. Once I started to do research I was floored. It's the fastest growing of all cancers. It's referred to as the Tyrannosaurus Rex of cancers," said Rogan.

According to the CCMAC website, www.CCMAC.org, one in three cancers is a skin cancer, and one in five Americans will develop a skin cancer in his or her lifetime. While melanoma is the rarest form of skin cancer, it is also the deadliest. If it is not caught early, it rapidly spreads to other parts of the body through the lymphatic system and becomes very difficult to control. The incidence of melanoma has increased at a rate of 4 percent a year, on average, since 1981. Melanoma also occurs at a younger age than other forms of skin cancer; it is not uncommon for it to occur in the mid to late teen years and is quite common in ages 20-30.

As a result, CCMAC is dedicated to increasing public awareness regarding the dangers and causes of skin cancer and changing attitudes and behaviors towards unsafe tanning and sun exposure. Achievement of these goals is possible through the education of parents and children in schools, public recreational facilities and community-based organizations. The foundation sponsors several annual events, including the Miles for Melanoma Walk/Run, school-based education initiatives and ongoing community education and awareness programs as well as a dinner dance and auction.

CCMAC has pushed through legislation to regulate tanning bed usage for teens and tweens and held free skin cancer screenings through Long Island. Additionally, representatives from the foundation work to spread awareness of skin cancer and melanoma by visiting elementary schools to educate our younger generations on the dangers of overexposure to the sun through the Be Sun Smart program.

"Becoming 'sun wise' at a very young age is important because almost 100 percent of people's skin damage from UV rays occurs when they're young -typically before their 15th birthday," Rogan said.

The longtime Carle Place resident believes he most likely got skin cancer as a result of too many serious sunburns as a child. "I remember getting burned almost every year at the beginning of the summer. My mother would put Noxzema on at night, I'd peel and that was it for the summer," he said.

Rogan's message to all residents - young and old, male and female - is to always wear sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses (since melanoma can form on the back of your eyeball) and a shirt when at the beach or out in the sun for any length of time and to stay out of tanning beds. "They are not safe no matter what the indoor tanning association says," said Rogan, adding that performing monthly self-examinations is also necessary. "If you see a mole that is new or has changed, see a doctor. Don't let them just 'burn it off." Insist on a biopsy. You really need to be proactive about it," he said.

The Colette Coyne Melanoma Awareness Campaign (CCMAC) will hold its 10th Annual Gala Dinner Dance & Charity Auction on Friday, Oct. 24 at the Milleridge Inn. For 2008, the foundation will recognize Monsignor Thomas J. Hartmann as Honoree of the Year.

Over the years, Father Tom has been a beacon to grieving parents who suffer the passing of a child. He is best known for the television show God Squad, which is co-hosted by Rabbi Marc Gellman. He appears frequently as a commentator on such programs as Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer on CNN and The O'Reilly Factor and Neil Cavuto on Fox Cable News as well as the nationally syndicated Imus in the Morning radio show. Father Tom also has his own Long Island productions on Telecare (Cablevision Channel 29) and is a published author whose most recently work includes Just a Moment - Life Matters With Father Tom and The Matter of Life and Death as well as co-author of Religion for Dummies, among others.

Father Tom is founder of Christa House, the Jerry Hartman Residence and the Tom Hartman Foundation for Parkinson's Research, a disease he himself is currently battling. He has been recognized for his professional and pastoral work by winning four Emmy Awards, a Telly Award and numerous "Man of the Year" accolades and honorary citations. In a poll conducted by Newsday, Father Tom was named "Long Islander of the Century" in the category of Leaders & Activists.

For more information about CCMAC or to purchase tickets for the Oct. 24 gala dinner dance and charity auction, visit www.CCMAC.org, call 352-4227 or email cmbc1@optonline.net.