Four years ago, Glenna arrived for treatment at the Melanoma Center and Pigmented Lesion Center at Mass General. “Glenna changed each of us who cared for her,” according to her nominator. She fought a hard fight against her stage III melanoma and always stayed positive throughout surgery, radiation and the clinical trials she endured to help future patients, despite their grueling side effects.
The former lifeguard and 2005 graduate of Salve Regina University was a vivacious and smart young woman with all-American good looks. Glenna loved sports, music and animals, especially her dog Marilyn, a source of joy. An ardent spokeswoman about the dangers of unprotected exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays, Glenna even addressed lawmakers on Beacon Hill, a pink bandana over her bald head, to advance a bill that would bar children under the age of 16 from tanning booths.
In November 2008, at age 26, Glenna succumbed to cancer at home. Her funeral celebrated an extraordinary young woman who touched the lives of all who knew her.
