'Big Bang Theory' Stars Appear In Melanoma PSA After Md. Girl's Death
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The cast of the CBS comedy hit "The Big Bang Theory" is offering support to a deadly serious cause after a young fan of their show from Maryland passed away.
Claire Marie was only 17 when she died from adolescent melanoma. Her mother, Marianne Banister, says Leonard, Penny, Sheldon, Raj and Howard kept her laughing in her final days.
"It was something she looked forward to in the evening," she says. "It was something she shared with my husband. It's a special time that they had. A thing as simple as a TV show can bring a smile when it's needed the most and we just wanted them to know, as a thank you from our family, and then it turned into something more."
The cast made this video about adolescent melanoma after a Banister relative in Los Angeles bumped into one of the show's producers and spoke of Claire's death.
"And then he shared it with everyone else involved with that show and they kind of adopted us," Banister says. "They decided to join us in the campaign to try to raise awareness in a way that will catch the ear of young people."
Banister says her daughter would be thrilled if she knew.
"She would absolutely love it."
This past spring, the Claire Marie Foundation was able to screen 120 young people for melanoma. Twenty of them were found to have precancerous growths.
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