At just 26 years old, Leah Adams heard the words no one wants to hear: malignant melanoma. In this powerful and emotional story, Leah shares how a routine skin check—prompted by her mother’s intuition—led to a life-altering diagnosis. As a runner and only child, Leah's journey through surgery, recovery, and her father’s parallel battle with stage 4 metastatic melanoma sheds light on how deeply this disease can impact families. Watch as Leah explains how the DecisionDx® Melanoma test helped guide her next steps and provided clarity in the most uncertain time of her life. Melanoma isn’t just skin cancer—it’s life-changing. But with the right tools and early detection, there is hope.
The Company continues its ongoing partnerships with IMPACT Melanoma, AIM at Melanoma and Melanoma Research Foundation to drive education and awareness throughout May
Castle highlights cancer journey of melanoma survivor and advocate, Leah Adams
Castle Biosciences Celebrates Skin Cancer Awareness Month: Castle Biosciences Celebrates Skin Cancer Awareness Month
FRIENDSWOOD, Texas, May 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Castle Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSTL), a company improving health through innovative tests that guide patient care, is recognizing Skin Cancer Awareness Month this May by supporting a series of initiatives designed to raise awareness, educate patients and families and empower those impacted by skin cancer.
“At Castle, our mission is rooted in delivering clinically actionable information to patients and their clinical care teams — and that begins with awareness and education,” said Derek Maetzold, president and chief executive officer of Castle Biosciences. “By supporting organizations like IMPACT Melanoma and sharing real patient stories like Leah’s, we aim to drive conversations around early detection and personalized risk assessment in an effort to help improve patient outcomes.”
Empowering Patients and Caregivers: IMPACT Melanoma Virtual Patient Symposium Castle is proud to continue its long-standing partnership with IMPACT Melanoma by sponsoring the organization’s upcoming virtual patient symposium, “Melanoma Diagnosis: A Toolkit to Support the Journey.” The event will be held on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 6 p.m. ET, and has been designed to provide individuals newly diagnosed with melanoma — and their support networks — with practical tools, resources and compassionate guidance to navigate the melanoma journey.
Aaron Farberg, M.D., FAAD, double board-certified dermatologist, Mohs surgeon and chief medical officer of Bare Dermatology in Dallas, will lead the discussion, joined by dermatology interest group students Mitchell Hanson and Brianna Speigel. Topics will include navigating a diagnosis, emotional support resources, survivorship planning and how patients and caregivers can more effectively advocate for melanoma care. Registration details can be found here.
“This symposium was created to meet people where they are — at a vulnerable moment in their lives,” said Deb Girard, executive director of IMPACT Melanoma. “We want everyone who attends, whether they are just beginning their journey or supporting someone who is, to walk away feeling more informed, supported and empowered.”
Leah’s Story: Living Confidently with the Support of DecisionDx®-Melanoma Improving patient care is at the heart of Castle’s mission. This month, Castle is sharing the powerful story of Leah Adams, a melanoma survivor who used Castle’s DecisionDx-Melanoma test to better understand her predicted risk of recurrence. “People don’t understand how serious melanoma is,” said Adams. “The DecisionDx-Melanoma test allows you to really see your risk of recurrence — whether it’s high- or low-risk — so you can do everything possible to protect your largest organ. Having the reassurance of the low-risk result helps me move forward and be able to show up for my family and for myself.”
Walking Together Toward a Cure: Castle Rallies for Melanoma Awareness Across the Nation As part of its commitment to advancing skin cancer awareness, Castle is proud to continue its support of AIM at Melanoma and the Melanoma Research Foundation by participating in multiple advocacy walks throughout the month of May. Taking place across the country, these events bring together survivors, caregivers, clinicians and advocates to raise critical funds for research, education and outreach — united by a shared goal of finding a cure.
Raising National Awareness: USA TODAY 2025 Skin Health Campaign Castle is also participating in the 2025 Skin Health Campaign by USA TODAY. The Company is collaborating on an article titled “Transforming Skin Cancer and Melanoma Outcomes,” which will appear in the May 30 print edition of USA TODAY and in the digital campaign on usatoday.com and Future of Personal Health. The article features Shannon Trotter, D.O., FAAD, board-certified dermatologist and host of the Derm-it Trotter! Don’t Swear About Skincare podcast, and melanoma advocate Leah Adams, and highlights the growing role of diagnostic testing in guiding personalized care decisions for individuals diagnosed with melanoma.
More information about Castle’s tests for patients with skin cancer can be found at www.CastleBiosciences.com.
About IMPACT Melanoma IMPACT Melanoma, a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading non-profit dedicated to significantly reducing melanoma in the United States and saving lives. The focus is on prevention education programs that include customized and integrated programs for communities. In addition to skin cancer prevention education and programs, the organization is committed to supporting melanoma patients and their families and advocating for and influencing urban development policies to address shade equity in America. To learn more about IMPACT Melanoma, visit https://impactmelanoma.org/.
About AIM at Melanoma Founded in 2004, AIM at Melanoma is a global foundation dedicated to finding more effective treatments and, ultimately, the cure for melanoma. By directing and funding paradigm-shifting research initiatives — educating patients, healthcare professionals, and the public — and advocating for survivors and their families, AIM at Melanoma’s goal is to end this disease in our lifetime while improving the lives of those it affects. AIM at Melanoma is dedicated to innovation in melanoma research, information and support, and legislation, policy and advocacy. For more information, visit AIMatMelanoma.org.
About Melanoma Research Foundation The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and the largest independent organization devoted to melanoma. Committed to the support of medical research to develop effective treatments and eventually a cure for melanoma, the MRF also educates patients and physicians about the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous melanoma and the melanoma rare subtypes. The MRF is a dedicated advocate for the melanoma community, helping to raise awareness of this disease and the need for a cure. To learn more about the MRF, visit https://melanoma.org/.
About DecisionDx-Melanoma DecisionDx-Melanoma is a 31-gene expression profile risk stratification test. It is designed to inform two clinical questions in the management of cutaneous melanoma: a patient’s individual risk of sentinel lymph node (SLN) positivity and a patient's personal risk of melanoma recurrence and/or metastasis. By integrating tumor biology with clinical and pathologic factors using a validated proprietary algorithm, DecisionDx-Melanoma is designed to provide a comprehensive and clinically actionable result to guide risk-aligned patient care. DecisionDx-Melanoma has been shown to be associated with improved patient survival and has been studied in more than 10,000 patient samples. DecisionDx-Melanoma’s clinical value is supported by more than 50 peer-reviewed and published studies, providing confidence in disease management plans that incorporate the test’s results. Through March 31, 2025, DecisionDx-Melanoma has been ordered more than 200,000 times for patients diagnosed with cutaneous melanoma. More information about the test and disease can be found at https://CastleBiosciences.com/.
About Castle Biosciences Castle Biosciences (Nasdaq: CSTL) is a leading diagnostics company improving health through innovative tests that guide patient care. The Company aims to transform disease management by keeping people first: patients, clinicians, employees and investors.
Castle’s current portfolio consists of tests for skin cancers, Barrett’s esophagus and uveal melanoma. Additionally, the Company has active research and development programs for tests in these and other diseases with high clinical need, including its test in development to help guide systemic therapy selection for patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis seeking biologic treatment. To learn more, please visit www.CastleBiosciences.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Instagram.
DecisionDx-Melanoma, DecisionDx-CMSeq, i31-SLNB, i31-ROR, DecisionDx-SCC, MyPath Melanoma, TissueCypher, DecisionDx-UM, DecisionDx-PRAME and DecisionDx-UMSeq are trademarks of Castle Biosciences, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning: Castle’s ability to (i) raise awareness, educate patients and families and empower those impacted by skin cancer and (ii) deliver actionable information to patients and their clinical care teams; and DecisionDx-Melanoma’s ability to (i) provide comprehensive, personalized results to guide risk-aligned management decisions for patients with stage I-III cutaneous melanoma and (ii) help clinicians make more informed, more precise treatment decisions. The words “believe,” “can,” “could,” “potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements that we make. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: subsequent study or trial results and findings may contradict earlier study or trial results and findings or may not support the results obtained in these studies, including with respect to the discussion of our tests in this press release; actual application of our tests may not provide the aforementioned benefits to patients; and the risks set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, each filed or to be filed with the SEC, and in our other filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements are applicable only as of the date on which they are made, and we do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.
