EAST QUOGUE, NY — Allyson Scerri, who’s devoted her life to giving back to those with traumatic brain injuries as founder of New Beginnings and the Brendan House, is a familiar face on the local East End canvas, an indomitable force for good.
But recently, Scerri, who lives in East Quogue, has lent her voice to championing a new cause —raising awareness about skin cancer, after she and her daughter were diagnosed just months apart.
In June of 2023, Allyson, 62, noticed she had a “sore that wouldn’t heal.”
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Allyson is an avid boater, traveler and former sun worshiper, she said.
“Living on eastern Long Island, we all anticipate the gorgeous summers and all they entail — activities such as going to the beach, boating, lounging by the pool,” Allyson said. “What we don’t often consider are the risks and consequences that align with this lifestyle.”
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After she noticed the suspicious bump on her upper forehead, which lingered, a lifelong friend and cancer survivor urged Allyson to be proactive and get a body scan, she said.
She was diagnosed with basal cell cancer, also known as BCC or basal cell carcinoma. Allyson said she was fortunate to find Dr. Kenneth Mark, who was able to treat her BCC by means of a Mohs surgery, which, according to the Mayo Clinic, “involves cutting away thin layers of skin. Each thin layer is looked at closely for signs of cancer. The process keeps going until there are no signs of cancer. The goal of Mohs surgery is to remove all of the skin cancer without hurting the healthy skin around it.”
But soon, just four months later, Allyson’s heart, the heart of a devoted mother, was clouded by news that was more frightening than her own diagnosis: Her daughter, Alyssa Newcomb, 34, who lives in Hampton Bays, was diagnosed with a melanoma.
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In October, Alyssa noticed that she had a “dark freckle that changed in shape and size over time,” Allyson said. The news left her chilled with disbelief. “She’s not a sun worshiper — I am,” she said.
“A millennial who grew up in the tanning bed era,” Alyssa said, however, that she was “no stranger to the sun and tanning. After all, everyone feels better bronzed. Over time, this early damage would come out in the form of a freckle.”
In 2021, Alyssa had gotten a body scan at her local dermatologist. She left the appointment with no concerns.
After noticing the dark freckle in 2023 on her chin, and after being prompted by her esthetician and her mother, who had just experienced her own similar scare, Alyssa said she returned to her dermatologist to get the spot examined.
Her dermatologist biopsied the site, and when the results came back, it turned out to be melanoma.
“At first, I panicked,” Alyssa said. But then, armed with determination, she said she wanted to get all the information she could before determining treatment options.
“We met with several doctors until we found the appropriate method. Alyssa found a wonderful melanoma specialist, Dr. Alan Kadison, who eased her worries and made her feel like she was in great hands,” Allyson said. “As opposed to Mohs surgery, the best option for Alyssa was to get the melanoma surgically removed. Alyssa was so lucky to have caught the melanoma early. Early detection saves lives.”
According to the Amerian Cancer Society, cancer of the skin is by far the most common of all cancers in the United States. Melanoma accounts for only about 1 percent of skin cancers but causes a large majority of skin cancer deaths, the ACS said.
The American Cancer Society estimate that about 100,640 new melanomas will be diagnosed in 2024, with about 59,170 in men and 41,470 in women.
Having lighter skin color is a major risk factor for melanoma, the American Cancer Society said, with the lifetime risk of getting melanoma is about 3 percent, or 1 in 33 for white people, 0.1 percent, or 1 in 1,000, for Black people, and 0.5 percent, or 1 in 200 for Hispanic people.
Allyson expressed eternal gratitude to her doctor, who not only treated her immediately with the Mohs surgery, but who also mentioned the doctor who helped her daughter.
Allyson said when she was growing up, sun-bathing was the norm. “We were all so tan, with big hair and bright pink lipstick,” she said.
When she first noticed the bump on her head, Allyson’s first instinct was avoidance, she admitted. “I hate going to the doctor,” she said. But her friend, a cancer survivor, urged her to get a complete body scan, and she did.
“In my heart, I thought it might be something. I just had a weird feeling; it wasn’t going away, and it was different-looking.” Although her diagnosis was “not the worst,” it was something she could not ignore, her doctor said, urging that she have it removed.
Her daughter, she said, went to the dermatologist in October.
“The dark freckle looked almost like a chocolate chip on her chin,” Allyson said. “I had noticed it, too — it was like a beauty mark, but she hadn’t always had it.”
A few days later, Allyson said, her daughter was driving home from Mattituck, where she teaches Spanish to 7th and 8th graders, when she got the news. “She called me and said, ‘Mom, it’s a melanoma.’ My heart just sank.”
Because of her recent experience and the knowledge she’d gained, Allyson realized that a melanoma can be deadly. “It was very scary,” she said
After a biopsy, her daughter’s doctor found that the melanoma was a bit deeper than initially thought. “Old school,” he decided to “go in and cut wide,” Allyson said. “He told us, ‘We don’t want to say in 10 years that we missed anything.'”
After general anesthesia and the surgery and later, and a plastic surgeon, her daughter was soon moving forward in her recovery.
“Her doctor told us, ‘You’ll never have skin cancer again, because you’ll be here every three months and if we find something, it will be before it gets bad.'”
Sharing the experience with her daughter was something Allyson had never envisioned. “But I was able to say, ‘I know what you’re going through.’ I understood it in a way i wouldn’t have before, when I didn’t know anything about skin cancer.”
Allyson’s husband Steve Scerri was also a huge support, she said.
Already, Alyssa has gone back for a three-month checkup and had two more biopsies, but all is well, she said.
While Allyson is a self-professed “worrywart,” her daughter, she said, is “more carefree. She’s on a cruise right now, with a big hat and sunblock on. We both love the sun — we’re just going to have to find a different way to do things. I’m all about the nice hat and sitting under an umbrella now.”
In the past, she said, beach umbrellas were something she never thought about. But now, she would never go without.
Her new mission, and her daughter’s, is to raise awareness about the dangers of the sun, she said.
Both believe in helping people and in giving back. Alyssa, her mother said, has already urged a number of people to get checked. “It’s definitely her journey, even more than mine,” Allyson said. “She’s just a person that helps others naturally. It’s quite incredible.”
Allyson said she has a message to share: “Don’t be afraid. Skin cancer is very preventable. You can still be fashionable but also, be safe. But we need to talk about it.”
Famed sun worshiper Jimmy Buffet died due to complications from Merkel-cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer, Allyson noted. To honor his life, his fans should practice safe sunbathing — including spray tans instead of sun beds, where UV rays come into play, she said. Even at the nail salon, Allyson suggests wearing gloves to protect hands from UV rays during procedures.
The time is now to have the important discussions about sun safety, Allyson said. “Summer is coming,” she said.
She and her daughter are even more bonded than they were before their shared health experience, Allyson said. “We’re so close, and now we’re even closer,” she said.
When Alyssa had back surgery four years ago, she was in a great deal of pain, but never complained. Just as she tackled her most recent health challenge, with resolve, her mother said. “She’s so strong, stronger than I am. But we both want to be a strong advocate on these health issues.”
Allyson added: “We’re just a mom and her daughter who helped each other — and now we both want to help the community.”
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