The Alberta Cancer Board hopes a $1-million donation from the family of a woman who died of melanoma will help it become a world leader in the treatment and prevention of skin cancer.

Mary Johnston died two years ago after living with a persistent and relatively untreatable form of skin cancer for 22 years.

Johnston is among a growing number of people dying from the disease. Canadians are being diagnosed with malignant melanoma at a faster rate than any other form of cancer, but it gets few research dollars.

'We are really on the upswing right now in Alberta for research and prevention against cancer.'-Dr. Tony Fields of the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton

"There are so many young patients who are affected  by this disease, and it's frustrating when they come to this clinic and we have to deal with young people facing a terminal cancer and tell them, 'We really don't have a lot of treatment options available,'" said Dr. Michael Smylie of the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.

As president of the Alberta Society for Melanoma, Johnston pushed for more funding, which is why her family and friends felt the best tribute to their loved one would be the $1-million donation announced Tuesday.

"Students, teachers and people who worked outside heard Mary's lines: 'Never go out in the sun without sunscreen and a hat,'" her husband, Dr. Bill Johnston, said at the announcement.

"'There's no such thing as a safe tan,'" he said.

Funding boosts melanoma research

The funding will create the Mary Johnston Professorship in Melanoma Research in Edmonton.

"We are really on the upswing right now in Alberta for research and prevention against cancer," said Dr. Tony Fields, director of the Cross Cancer Institute. "We're going to be ramping up to be an international heavyweight in cancer research.

"This gift will mean that melanoma research will be one of the cornerstones of our research campaign against cancer in this country."

The Alberta Cancer Board has already started an international search for a researcher to fill the position.

The University of Alberta and the provincial government are matching the funds to create a new melanoma research department in Edmonton.

The melanoma research funding is in addition to a recent $500,000,000 cash injection from the province for general cancer research.