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Squamous Cell Carcinoma: What Patients Need to Know

WEBINAR RECORDING AVAILABLE:

Squamous Cell Carcinoma: What Patients Need to Know

Dr. David Zloty, Dermatologist and Clinical Professor at UBC, reviews the latest news, clinical data and other updates as they relate to the treatment of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), a common and sometimes metastatic skin cancer. Dr. Zloty provides an update on skin cancer statistics in Canada, an overview of the disease features, staging and prognostication, surgery and treatment options including immuno-oncology for cSCC, and the impact of all of this to patients.  Additionally, Erin Vidic, a Medical Writer with the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), introduces their 2019 Patient Guidelines for Squamous Cell Skin Cancer. This comprehensive resource gives skin cancer patients a reliable checklist to inform decisions in their care, which is much-needed for this common form of cancer, and even more helpful in the metastatic setting.

Presenters:

David Zloty MD FRCP – Clinical Professor, Dept. of Derm and Skin Science, UBC

Erin Vidic MA – Medical Writer, National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®)

Facilitator:  Kathy Barnard, skin cancer survivor and Founder of Save Your Skin Foundation

Listen to a recording of the presentation here, or watch it on our YouTube channel here.

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One Week Until Move for Melanoma!

All across Canada teams of runners, bikers, hikers, and even laser tag enthusiasts are all preparing to MOVE FOR MELANOMA next weekend!

In our weekend-long fund-and-awareness-raising activity challenge Save Your Skin supporters will be all hands on deck to make this event great.

Friday September 13 kicks off Move for Melanoma with a team of cyclists biking 600 kilometres in the Montreal area, wrapping up the ride on Monday September 16 in conjunction with two shorter rides, 85 kms and 55 kms, in which our very own Kathy Barnard will be biking with her husband alongside the BMS team.

On the Saturday and Sunday in cities all over, participants will do their favourite activities in the name of melanoma patient support – in addition to the run and bike routes people have planned, we have crossfit teams, kayaking, city tour walking, and axe-throwing!

Haven’t yet registered? 

CLICK HERE to view the event website and join a team, create a team, or donate today!

Click on any image below to see what these teams are doing:

             

             

 

Save Your Skin Foundation notes the unique accessibility of the Challenge as an important part of campaign. “Skin cancer can happen to anyone. It’s caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from sunlight or tanning beds. We therefore wanted a campaign that was accessible to anyone”, explains Kathleen Barnard, President and Founder, Save Your Skin Foundation and stage four melanoma survivor. “People have come up with very creative ideas that work within their Challenge comfort zones. One team is doing CrossFit, another is doing an axe-throwing contest and I’ll be cycling 55 kilometres in Montreal on Monday!”

Email us to let us know what you’re doing for MOVE FOR MELANOMA! 

Stay tuned for more photos and excitement from the events next weekend.  We will also post thanks to our generous sponsors, including:

Bristol-Meyers Squibb Canada, Montreal, Quebec

AXED Throwing Club, Thornbury, Ontario

Beach City CrossFit, Penticton, BC

MadLab School of Fitness, Vancouver, BC

And many more!

 

 

 

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ASCO 2019 Event Report

The 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting took place from May 31-June 4, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. This event brings together over thirty thousand oncologists, pharmaceutical representatives, and patient advocates from across the world and across cancer types for five days of networking, learning, and presenting new research.

Every year, Save Your Skin Foundation puts together a report of the panels regarding updates on the innovative treatment of melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer, and ocular melanoma. Included in the report are detailed recollections of these panels, in chronological order.

Please CLICK HERE to download and read the report.

 

Feedback or questions?  Contact us – info@saveyourskin.ca

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Launch of Free, Public Sunscreen Dispensers in Kelowna

Today marks the launch of two free, public sunscreen dispensers in key Kelowna hot spots. The project has been powered by Morgan’s Mole Patrol and Save Your Skin Foundation, with the support of the City of Kelowna.  Click here to read our press release.

In memory of her son Morgan Forshner, Karen Wells of Kelowna, started Morgan’s Mole Patrol Foundation to spread awareness about the importance of sun safety. Her aim is to stop the spread of melanoma, a largely preventable cancer – with the application of some sun smart behaviour.  Karen reached out to Kathy Barnard of Save Your Skin Foundation in the initiative, and quickly a partnership was born.

This launch is just the beginning of Karen and Kathy’s plan to install many more dispensers in Kelowna and all over British Columbia.  Stay tuned for news!

First located at the Kelowna’s Visitor Centre downtown, and the Kelowna Golf & Country Club, the dispensers are automatic and touchless, and will provide free, Health Canada approved SPF 30 sunscreen for anyone who needs it. The dispensers use SPF 30 sunscreen, free from known dangerous ingredients such as parabens, oxybenzone, retinyl palminate, phthalate, PEG, parfume, and sodium lauryl sulphate.

Applying sunscreen is part of an overall sun-safe way to enjoy the outdoors. First, limit your time in the direct sunlight, especially between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., seek shade, cover up by wearing long sleeves and pants and a wide-brimmed hat. Use sunscreen, specifically one labelled broad-spectrum, SPF 30, protect the lips with lip sunscreen or zinc oxide. Apply 20 minutes before sun exposure, and reapply every two hours or after swimming.

Shoutout to David Cornfield Melanoma Fund, who first launched their sunscreen dispensers pilot in Toronto in 2017. Since then they continue to inspire us all with the growth of their program, totalling 50 dispensers in 2018, and they now have 75. Way to go!

Congratulations to Karen and her family, we know Morgan would feel honoured today.

 

 

 

 

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All.Can Patient Survey Report Launched Today!

All.Can international has launched a report titled ‘Patient insights on cancer care: opportunities for improving efficiency’. It reveals findings from an international survey on the patient perspectives of inefficiencies in cancer care. With insights from almost 4,000 patients in over 10 countries, the report identifies four key areas of opportunity for improvement and highlights the need to establish a sustainable approach to cancer care.

The Patient insights on cancer care: opportunities for improving efficiency report is based on the findings from the All.Can patient survey conducted from January to November, 2018. This is to our knowledge, the first international survey designed to gather patient perspectives on inefficiencies in cancer care i.e. how their care experience could be improved.  The survey was open to current and former cancer patients (and their carers) of all ages and with all cancer types.

The survey was conducted internationally, with bespoke versions in ten separate countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US. There was also a generic international survey available in English, French, German and Spanish.

As a member of All.Can, Save Your Skin Foundation is proud to support this work and we wish to thank all of the Canadian patients, survivors, family members and caregivers that participated in this survey and shared their perspectives about their cancer experiences.

To read more about the survey methodology and resulting report, to read the full report as an e-book, or to download the full report as a pdf, please click here: 

All.Can Patient Survey Report

 

To read our press release about the launch of the survey report with Canadian-specific statics, please click here: New Cancer Report Reveals Opportunities for Governments to ‘Do the Right Thing by Patients’

Stay tuned for more details on our upcoming Canada-specific version of the survey report.

 

About All.Can international

All.Can is an international, multi-stakeholder initiative, dedicated to tackling inefficiency in cancer care – where inefficiency is defined as any allocation of resources that does not focus on what matters to patients. Its ambition is to help drive solutions for sustainable care for all those affected by cancer.

All.Can international’s membership includes representatives from leading patient organisations, policymakers, healthcare professionals, research and industry. To find out more about the membership of All.Can, visit: https://www.all-can.org/about-us/members/

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Congratulations Miss Lower Mainland BC 2019-2020

Save Your Skin Foundation is proud to congratulate our inspiring friend Aman Merdha, for her successful participation in the 2019 Miss BC Pageant at the beginning of July.  Aman had approached us in the spring with an idea for a partnership, and we quickly grew to love her enthusiasm for skin patient advocacy, personal growth, and sharing her energy with her community and her province.  Aman undertook many responsibilities as part of competing in this pageant, including raising sun safety awareness and planning ideas for how she could help others love the skin they are in, and she was crowned Miss Lower Mainland 2019-2020!  Congratulations Aman!

To fulfill the role that goes with this title, Aman has to plan events and activities that uphold the values on which she built her platform, and one way she will do this is by working with SYSF to raise awareness about sun safety with youth in various BC schools.  Part of her journey is also the opportunity to participate in the Miss Canada Pageant in March of 2020.  We look forward to supporting Aman in all of her endeavours – stay tuned for updates.

To learn about Aman’s experience at the Miss BC Pageant in her own words, please read her guest blog below.

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Guest blog, by Aman Merdha, Miss Lower Mainland 2019-20

I never envisioned myself standing up on a stage, and being able to communicate my passion with hundreds of people. It is so mind boggling to me to think that going into the Miss BC Pageant, I felt anxious, nervous, quite honestly, unworthy of being there. As the weekend was coming to an end, I found myself feeling very emotional, not only because I was given the privilege of being Miss Lower Mainland 2019-2020, but also because of the sense of pride I felt for all of us.

When we all first arrived on Saturday morning, I truly didn’t know what to think. Everyone looked so beautiful, and I felt very nervous to approach anybody. One of the first people I approached was Charlotte. She was so kind and friendly, and minutes later I found myself laughing among a group of women I barely knew.

The Miss BC Pageant focuses on sharing our stories, and empowering each other through those stories. One of the very first things we did was share our Heart and Soul with one another. Many women opened up about their experiences with a variety of issues women face today, and I was moved to tears. Once we had all shared our stories, and confided in one another, I felt as if I had known these women much longer than just an hour.

The rest of the day flew by, and I found myself arriving the next day with a much lighter heart. I did not wear any makeup, and I truly felt like myself. This was one of those moments where I realized how comfortable I felt in my own skin, and how accepting and loving everybody was. I found myself supporting and encouraging these women, and I felt empowered by each of them. All of them were so different, and had such different platforms, but they all radiated the same positive energy, and wanted to create change.

I felt relieved, and this feeling of relief, believe it or not, did not fade when I met the judges for my private interview. The interview was so friendly, and light hearted. I talked a lot about what Save Your Skin Foundations message meant to me, and found myself engaging with everyone, even after the interview, as if they were one of my closest friends. Any interaction I had, I made sure to spread melanoma awareness, and even offered sunscreen samples, to further educate them regarding this matter.

Rehearsals were an actual struggle since I cannot dance for the life of me, and found myself feeling pretty upset about not being able to keep up with everyone else. I felt as if I had done my absolute best this weekend, and I was not going to let this dance number ruin my confidence. In order to combat these negative thoughts, I took some time away from the group, and reminded myself that I was worthy of attending this pageant, and I was not going to let this break me down. I got up, and I continued to dance. I never actually ended up learning the dance properly, but hey, at least I tried.

I came back on Monday feeling very happy, but also very sad. I did not want the pageant to end. The Miss BC Pageant gave me the opportunity to not only share my platform with a large quantity of people, but they also helped me claw out of my shell. I would never have been able to engage with so many people all at once before this pageant. It truly helped me better my communication skills.

During the actual finale, I felt very confident in myself, and it felt as if I was just hanging out with a group of friends. Everyone in the audience was so supportive of everyone. I remember standing on stage,and feeling so proud of everyone. Once they began calling names, I felt so happy for each and every woman who was receiving the recognition they deserved, and mid way through, lone behold, they called my name to be part of the top fifteen contestants that were going to be considered for provincial titles.

I remember standing backstage, and I was feeling very nervous, so I kept shaking my hands out constantly. Once I was on stage, and was asked a question, the words just started to flow out of my mouth. I wasn’t thinking about what I was saying, yet when I finished talking and looked up at the judges and the audience, the one thing that went through my head was “look at you.”

I never would have been able to talk to so many people before this pageant. All the people I was so lucky to meet, and all the workshops I was so grateful to participate in, had paid off. It was in that moment when I realized that no matter the outcome, I had won something. I was walking away with the experience of a lifetime, and basically a better version of me. I realized what I was capable of, and made a promise to myself to keep working on a better me.

Without Save Your Skin Foundation, I would not have met these amazing women, and I would not have been able to spread their message on a provincial platform. They were the ones who believed in me before I believed in myself. I do not have words to explain how much this experience has changed me as an individual, and it has also opened so many doors for me in the last little bit. I cannot wait to continue fundraising and supporting Save Your Skin Foundation at the Miss Canada Pageant as well.

 

For more information please visit www.missbc.ca

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Vote Health First

In light of the upcoming federal election, Save Your Skin Foundation commissioned research by Nanos Research to better understand Canadians’ views around federal health priorities.  The results provide a snapshot of priorities for people in Canada and support the need for a comprehensive health care strategy in Canada.

To see the Nanos survey results, please click HERE   On June 17, 2019, we hosted a panel discussion on the results of the survey and the health priorities that affect all Canadians: ‘The Case of the Missing Health Platform’.

Click here to watch the recording of the event.

 

SYSF also issued a press release calling on all political Parties to do a better job at articulating a comprehensive approach to health care in the run up to the federal election. Click here to read the press release: Patient groups call on all federal Parties: State your health commitments for the 2019 federal election

 

VoteHealthFirst.ca has been launched to help Canadians have their voices heard regarding important health care issues surrounding the 2019 federal elections and beyond.

Vote Health First is a collaboration between Save Your Skin Foundation (SYSF), Myeloma Canada, Canadian Psoriasis Network and CONECTed for patient engagement in the upcoming federal election.

We have designed this site to be a one-stop-shop for information exclusively devoted to putting the concerns and needs of Canadian patients first in the upcoming federal election.

The site will be updated regularly and will include, amongst other documents and tools:

  • Information about federal-level health issues that are important to all Canadians, specifically Canadian patients;
  • Relevant updates about the upcoming election including what the electoral parties are saying about health care;
  • Ways for you to get involved.

Content will be updated regularly so check back throughout the next several months.

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Calling All Metastatic SCC Patients!

SYSF invites all patients and their caregivers to complete this survey on Libtayo/Cemiplimab therapy for adult cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the metastatic setting.

This survey is intended to gather patient perspective to inform the Save Your Skin Foundation treatment recommendations to the CADTH Common Drug Review (CDR) and to pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR).

We invite all cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma patients who received Libtayo/Cemiplimab to complete this survey by July 17, 2019.

This survey is now closed, thank you to all who shared their experience.

 

Thank you!

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PeerVoice – Advances in Adjuvant Melanoma Therapy

We are pleased to announce that the PeerVoice activity entitled ”Advances in Adjuvant Melanoma Therapy: Working Together To Improve Outcomes’’ has now launched online.  SYSF is proud to endorse this work, and applauds the valuable work put into this educational resource.

This initiative features two expert panel discussions, verbally presented by:

Michael Smylie, MBCHB, FRCPC, Edmonton, Alberta

Joël Claveau, MD, FRCPC, Quebec City, Quebec

Carolyn Nessim, MD, MSc, FRCSC, FACS, Ottawa, Ontario

Presentation 1: Adjuvant Melanoma Therapy: Optimizing the Care Pathway

Presentation 2: Adjuvant Melanoma Therapy: Experts Appraise the Evidence

These verbal interview-style presentations are also available as downloadable transcripts, click here to view or read the presentations: PeerVoice: Advances in Adjuvant Melanoma Therapy

PeerVoice activities are designed to fill the unmet needs of the medical community by reporting information pertaining to clinically relevant advances and developments in the science and practice of medicine.  This independent learning activity is supported by Merck Canada Inc.

 

NEW! December 2019:  Minding the Melanoma Patient With Brain Metastases: Updates to Personalize Care

Listen to the recording, and/or download the presentation, by:
Marcus Butler, Medical Oncologist, University of Toronto  |  Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Raising the Bar With Immunotherapy for Melanoma and Kidney Cancer: Strategies to Enhance Care. This independent learning activity is funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co.

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Introducing Think Uveal Melanoma, by Immunocore

We are happy to share with you the launch of chapter 1 of a new Uveal Melanoma Disease Education Campaign website by Immunocore, thinkuvealmelanoma.com. (Note: Please use Google Chrome for the best user experience). We are pleased to endorse this website and to share it with our Medical Advisory Board and membership.

This initiative is an important milestone in educating and increasing the knowledge of ocular and uveal melanoma (UM) and its unique requirements, for healthcare professionals. This includes increasing the knowledge surrounding the diagnosis, referral, monitoring and treatment of UM, across the full spectrum of key stakeholders, such as Ophthalmologists, Ocular Oncologists, Retina Specialists, Medical Oncologists, in both community and academic centers.

This global campaign consists of three chapters that will be launched over the course of this year. Chapters 2 and 3 will educate healthcare professionals about the differences between uveal and cutaneous melanoma and the limitations of current treatment options. Global experts in the field of UM are partnering with Immunocore to create meaningful and relevant content. A multi-channel engagement campaign is surrounding the website to reach a broad range of key stakeholders and allowing for multiple virtual touchpoints.

Ultimately, Immunocore wants to

  • raise awareness of the unmet need in UM
  • educate physicians and other key stakeholders on metastatic UM (mUM) and the differences to metastatic cutaneous melanoma (mCM)
  • convey their commitment to exploring ways to address the distinct unmet needs of patients with UM

 

Click here to view the website, background information, and even an interactive module which simulates possible symptoms of UM: thinkuvealmelanoma.com

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