For Save Your Skin Foundation’s 20th anniversary, we’re sharing the voices that have shaped our community. They are each unique and show just how stories of strength, resilience, and hope.

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Shannon Gaudette’s story is one we’ve carried with us for over 15 years.

Diagnosed with stage IV melanoma while six months pregnant,

 

Shannon faced the unimaginable. In the span of just eight weeks, she underwent emergency brain surgery and moved from the ICU to neurology to the maternity ward, grappling not only with her own survival, but the possibility she might never meet her daughter.

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“I really didn’t think I would live long enough to meet Madeline,” she shares. “That possibility was beyond terrifying.”

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During this time, Shannon was introduced to Save Your Skin Foundation and met Kathy Barnard, the Founder and President.

While much of her medical journey felt uncertain, Kathy brought something Shannon says she wasn’t always getting elsewhere: Hope.

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“When Kathy would come visit me in the hospital, she would repeatedly say, ‘There’s always hope. Treatments are changing. Don’t give up.’ Her words really kept me going.”

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In a moment where fear and doubt could have taken over, that belief made all the difference.

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At first, her goals were simple:

Please let me live long enough to see my daughter born.

 

Then:
Please let me take her to preschool.
Kindergarten.
And then… more milestones kept coming. Today, her daughter is in grade 9.

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“Each day feels like such a blessing.”

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For Shannon, survivorship changed everything.

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“There’s a before and an after. You’re never the same, but not all of those changes are bad. You stop sweating the small stuff. You don’t take things for granted anymore. You realize what truly matters: your loved ones.”

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That perspective is something she now shares with others. Over the years, Shannon has connected with fellow melanoma patients in her community, meeting for coffee, checking in, and reminding them they’re not alone.

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“You wouldn’t believe how powerful those little connections are. If they can do it, maybe I can too - that’s what I try to be for others.”

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She also carries forward the message that carried her:

“Don’t let anyone take away your hope.”

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Today, Shannon feels grateful for her family, the time spent with loved ones, and for the support she received from Save Your Skin Foundation.

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“You have no idea how strong you are until you don’t have a choice.”