On Friday, August 7, at 7 p.m. the  Pale is the New Tan® 5K (PINT 5K) will be held on Ridgeway Loop in East Memphis. Formerly known as the Run from the Sun Memphis, proceeds from the run benefit the Scarlet Lawrence Akins Foundation. Akins died of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, at age 27. The SLA Foundation’s mission is to raise funds to find a cure for melanoma as well as raising public awareness of disease prevention.

Scarlet Lawrence Akins (1978-2006)

A 1997 graduate of Collierville High School, Akins received a degree in English in 2001 from the University of Mississippi. She later earned a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication in 2003. She moved to Atlanta and served as an assistant editor for Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles magazine and later as the editor of European Homes and Gardens magazine. She later returned to her love of education and accepted a position at Memphis City Schools. Then she moved on to teach journalism at Northwest Mississippi Community College. She and her husband Jody rejoiced in the news a baby was on the way, but Akins had a difficult pregnancy. She was horribly weak, had a persistent cough and began losing weight. In April 2006, a CT scan and various tests found that melanoma from a mole on her leg had metastasized to her groin, back, brain and “too many tumors to count” in her lungs. The pregnancy had made the cancer spread faster and had weakened her immune system. A few days after the diagnosis, doctors removed a grapefruit-sized tumor from her leg. The next month, as early as they could, doctors took the baby, Madison Grace. She was not even four pounds. Preterm birth treatment helped Madison to grow as treatments for Akins’ cancer continued. Akins died August 4, 2006, the day before her 28th birthday. Akins’ mother, Cheryl Lawrence-Moore, co-parents now 3-year-old Madison Grace with Madison’s dad, Jody. Lawrence-Moore also helps organize the PINT 5K Run and activities of the Scarlet Lawrence Akins Foundation.