Stefani Anderson is a 26-year-old high school health teacher and soccer coach. She enjoys her summers off and can often be found hiking through trails at a nearby park or playing tennis with her friends. She is very active, eats healthy and loves being outdoors – sometimes she spends all day outside. Below is a one day snapshot of her food choices.

During her childhood, Stefani was often swimming at the pool or playing outside. Each year she and her friends started the summer with severe sunburns, but by summer’s end, those burns were few and far between. Of course, they would start all over the next year — a pattern that has continued throughout Stefani’s life.

As an adult, Stefani still maintains her “healthy” glow by coaching soccer, sunbathing at the pool in the summer and visiting a tanning salon a few times each month in the winter.

A year ago, Stefani’s roommate, Alicia, noticed a dark spot on Stefani’s back when they were at the pool. The area was about the size of a pencil eraser and mostly black, but with some red lines around it. It was irregular in shape, unlike other moles she already had. Stefani had not noticed it before because it was in a location that was tough to see.

Stefani knows that with her fair skin she should use sunscreen when she’s outside, but she assumes her clothing and cloud coverage prevent her from getting too much sun. She also tries to run or ride her bike early in the morning when the sunlight is not as intense.

Stefani is aware that sun exposure can lead to melanoma. In her health class, she teaches her students how to look for changes in moles — the ABCDEs of melanoma detection. But she, like her students, is convinced that melanoma will not affect her for years to come, if ever. She often tells the story of her grandfather, a farmer, who had a spot of melanoma on his hand removed at the age of 65 and is still alive fifteen years later. Stefani hopes that when her students are in their 50s, if they see a suspicious mole, they will remember what she taught them in health class.

1. Internet Research: Create a chart with images and definitions for the ABCDE’s of melanoma.

Review Stefani’s story: Match the warning signs from her story to the ABCDE definitions from your chart.
• Border:
• Color:
• Diameter:
• Evolving:



2. Review Stefani’s PHR: In the ‘At Risk’ section of her PHR, what are the noted health risks?

Internet Research: Why are Stefani’s choices harmful to her health?


3. Team Response: If Stefani was your friend, provide 3 pieces of advice you could give her to reduce her risks.


4. Review Stefani’s story: Nutrition is an important aspect of health. Looking at Stefani’s Food Diary, what are some changes or modifications you would make in her food choices so Stefani’s diet is healthier?

Practice: Each team member needs to ‘make a copy’ of this Nutrition spreadsheet. Look over Stefani’s Food Diary and select healthier food item choices and serving sizes that fall within the Recommended Daily Allowance ranges. People ‘eat with their eyes first’, meaning food should look appetizing. When creating meals for Stefani, visually picture those meals, making sure they are meals a person would actually eat.



5. Reflection: When looking at creating a healthy meal in the Nutrition spreadsheet, what two categories were hardest to get in the “green” range and why?


6. Make it Personal: In general, what are two challenges teens face when trying to make healthy food choices?

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