By Mara Klecker

Page Weinstein has a special request for photographers who take her portraits: Don’t edit out the scar on the back of her forearm.

“It’s this daily reminder that I’m stronger than cancer,” she said.

Page is determined to use that scar – and her platform as Miss Pennsylvania – to spark broader conversations about melanoma. “It’s about shining a spotlight to advocate, especially to young people, to take care of their skin. It’s their largest organ and needs to be protected.”

Page was just 26 when she noticed something unfamiliar on her forearm — a raised, uneven mole that she knew hadn’t always been there. The spot wasn’t immediately visible when Page looked in the mirror, but when she did finally look at it closely, she felt a sharp pang of fear. Her mind flashed to memories of her grandmother, who had died of mucosal melanoma, a rare and aggressive cancer, less than a decade earlier.

“I think I had this heightened awareness of the risk because of my family history,” Weinstein said.

Still, Page was shocked when a doctor told her the mole was cancerous.

“I had this stigma that cancer only happened to the older generation.”

Now 27, Page said she’s grateful for her personal connection to melanoma before her own diagnosis. It’s why she felt compelled to get her mole checked and how it was detected early.

“I don’t know what would have happened if I had ignored it,” she said. “I might still be walking around with it, completely unaware.”

Page’s diagnosis came just before the height of her local pageant season, which she planned to use to win her way to the Miss Pennsylvania competition. But the necessary surgeries to remove her cancer derailed her plans.

“It felt like cancer was taking away something I had worked so hard for,” she said. Still, she found a way. Page applied directly to the Miss Pennsylvania competition as an at-large candidate. She was unable to practice her talent – baton twirling – as much as she hoped since she was still recovering, but she was undeterred. Earning the title as Pennsylvania’s Miss America delegate had been a dream since she was a little girl and one she’d gotten tantalizingly close to the year before.

Just months after her surgery in March, Page’s dream came true. In June, she was named Miss Pennsylvania. “It felt surreal. I had gone from the lowest point of my life to one of the highest,” she said. In that moment, she said she also felt her mission become clear: Use her role to make a difference in the lives of others.

“That’s my goal every single day in this role as Miss Pennsylvania,” she said. “Whether it’s talking about the importance of early detection for melanoma or visiting a school to inspire kids to be kind, I have that ability to use my voice to make a difference in the lives of others. I don’t take that for granted.”

Page’s advocacy has involved partnering with AIM at Melanoma to raise awareness about sun safety and melanoma research – a message she said is particularly important in the pageant world, where a tan is often considered essential.

“I will be the first to say that I grew up going to the tanning bed, especially being in the competition world,” Page said, adding that she and her peers would tan regularly, even as young teenagers. There’s a pressure to be skinny and tan, she said.

“One thing I really want to advocate for is that there are alternate ways to get that tan,” she said, adding that she’s a fan of spray tans and now someone who slathers on the sunscreen when she’s outside. “There are healthy ways to look and feel your best without harming your skin.”

Today, she advocates for safer alternatives, like spray tans and daily sunscreen. “Your skin is your largest organ,” she said. “It deserves to be protected.”

Page is taking her advocacy to events like the Steps Against Melanoma walks hosted by AIM at Melanoma. It’s now her family tradition to participate in the Pittsburgh walk in honor of her late grandmother. “It’s always emotional, but it’s also empowering,” she said. “You’re surrounded by people who’ve either survived melanoma or lost someone to it. There’s a real sense of community and support.”

Page’s strong personal support network was crucial in helping her through her melanoma journey. Her mother was her emotional anchor after her diagnosis. “She was my rock,” Page said. “Even though she had lost her own mom to melanoma, she stayed so strong for me. I don’t know how she did it.”

Though she was unable to prepare for the Miss Pennsylvania competition in the traditional sense — less time practicing her talent, fewer community events—Page said her mother’s encouragement and feeling her grandmother’s presence and pride gave her a different kind of strength. “I wasn’t as physically prepared, but I was mentally and emotionally prepared in a way I had never been before,” she said. “I knew why I was there.”

That purpose continues to drive her through her busy schedule of appearances, school visits and philanthropy. As Skin Cancer Awareness Month approaches, she’s ramping up her efforts to reach more people — especially those who may think they’re too young or too healthy to worry about skin cancer.

If sharing her story helps even one person remember to wear sunscreen, skip the tanning bed or book a skin check, Page said the effort is worth it. Her scar is the physical reminder of that mission, but there’s often a less tangible nudging to keep up her advocacy work. Page’s grandmother was one of her greatest supporters, never missing a competition or pageant. In some ways, Page said she knows she’s still in the audience, cheering on her beloved granddaughter.

“I feel my grandmother encouraging me,” Page said. “I know that she’s really proud that I didn’t give up on my dream. And that I’m doing this in her honor.”