Born on July 15, 2004 to proud parents Jeff and Candy Peterson, Marit was barely home from the hospital when Candy noticed a pink bump on her baby's right ring finger. Full of a new mother’s concern, she pointed it out to their pediatrician during regular checkups and was reassured each time that it was nothing to worry about. But the bump grew, began to change color and seemed to bother Marit whenever she bumped her hand.

Candy was still concerned; the bump looked much like the melanoma lesion Marit’s grandfather had several years back. When Marit was 18 months old, her parents insisted on a biopsy to be sent to the pathology laboratory. The results were inconclusive. Marit’s report was sent to two other well-known cancer hospitals for further analysis. “Still inconclusive,” they said.

After weeks of anxiously waiting for reports, they decided to come to M. D. Anderson. Here, the couple sensed that Marit’s case would be dealt with immediately. Jeffrey E. Lee, M.D., surgical oncologist in the Melanoma and Skin Center removed additional tissue and the sentinel lymph node, and Jeff and Candy had the answer they had been dreading. Marit had cancer, and it had spread to at least one of her lymph nodes.

Without delay, Marit had further surgery. Fortunately, her melanoma had not spread beyond the initial lymph node and her prognosis was good. Marit successfully completed a year’s worth of three times a week Interferon injections to head off the chance of a recurrence. She continues to return to M. D. Anderson every six months for CT scans, X-rays and blood work to monitor her progress.

It’s been a long, difficult journey for all of them, but there have been joys too. Marit is a happy kindergarten student who dances and loves Cinderella and her family, especially her little brother Hale, born on August 8, 2006 – the day after her first dose of Interferon.

To honor Marit and support Dr. Lee’s research into the inherited genome for melanoma, the Petersons have started a fund to support melanoma research and are hosting an annual golf tournament in October to grow the fund. In its first two years, the tournament has raised over $440,000 for melanoma research. The third annual Marit Peterson Melanoma Research Golf Tournament will be held on Tuesday, October 20th, 2009 at Canyon Creek Country Club in Richardson, TX.

About the Marit Peterson Fund for Melanoma Research:
Dr. Lee and his colleagues believe it is critical to have a clinical program for inherited melanoma at M. D. Anderson. Currently, the research team has identified a few genes related to melanoma. However, thanks to the human genome project, they can now look at all the genes in the human genome. M. D. Anderson has more than 2,000 samples collected from melanoma patients awaiting formal study. This project will require $500,000 in funding over four years.

About the Marit Peterson Melanoma Research Golf Fundraiser:
100% of proceeds will go directly toward melanoma research at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The event will take place on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at Canyon Creek Country Club in Richardson, Texas. Participation opportunities include playing, underwriting and silent auction donations.