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Federal Health Minister Vows to Lower High Drug Costs for Canadians

Federal Health Minister Dr. Jane Philpott made headlines this week with her vow to lower “unacceptably high drug costs” for Canadians. Save Your Skin Foundation was in Ottawa to attend the Minister’s announcement on “improving affordability, accessibility and appropriate use of drugs in Canada.”  This is big news as it may well have a profound impact on drug prices in the country.

Many Canadians are unaware of how many barriers cancer patients face when attempting to access treatments. Now that there are finally new innovative cancer treatments available, drug prices have become a controversial issue. Many treatments are only conditionally covered by Provincial Healthcare leaving many patients with nothing, or the option to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a chance at survival. Treatment options are also not the same across the country, leaving patients in some provinces at a disadvantage.

Louise Binder, a Drug Policy expert that works at Save Your Skin, commented on the announcement:

“Patients requiring effective but high-cost drugs for life threatening conditions, including oncology, certainly support steps to moderate prices and ensure access to all people in Canada who need them. As always, the devil is in the details. We are pleased that the Minister committed to meaningful patient engagement at every step in the process.”

Binder has been analyzing this issue for years on behalf of patient groups. In addition to consulting with Save Your Skin Foundation, Binder is a co-founding member of the Drug Pricing Policy Working Groups, brought together after the 2016 Drug Pricing Policy Summit co-sponsored by Save Your Skin Foundation, Schizophrenia Society of Ontario and Canadian Cancer Survivor Network.

For more information, and to join the conversation, please read our press release here:

Philpott’s Drug Pricing Changes in the Right Direction but the Devil is in the Details

And Globe & Mail article here:

Philpott vows to bring down ‘unacceptably high’ drug costs

For questions for more information, please contact kathy@saveyourskin.ca

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May is Melanoma Awareness Month

Approximately 6,800¹ Canadians will have been diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in the year that has passed since it was last Melanoma Awareness Month.  Many have lost their battle with this stealthy disease, and many remain to continue fighting the disease as long as they live.

As metastatic skin cancer patients receive the benefit of a better quality of life when treated with immuno-oncology therapies, as opposed to the devastating chemotherapies of old, it becomes an even more poignant discussion when we are faced with the reality of the limitations our health care system that does not allow us access to the treatments that may save our lives. With advances in treatment come improved results for survivorship, but the gap between these two things is still too wide for the comfort of Canadian melanoma patients.

In Ontario for example, it takes an average of 801 days for a new drug to be listed once it is approved.² That is about two years longer than advanced melanoma patients have to wait.  Melanoma is an aggressive form of cancer, it does not stop for the health care drug approval process.

The patients and their loved ones who face this challenge are real people. They are not myths, nor exaggerations, nor random distant statistics. They are people who live in our local communities, they travel to cancer centres for help, and they live every day in fear for their future. They have children – or they are children, they have jobs and homes and aspirations for their lives, and they live every day in uncertainty, at risk of losing these things.

To help these patients – these people – we need to continue to bring awareness to melanoma and skin cancer disease. We need to be vigilant during this, Melanoma Awareness Month. We can start now by sharing the discussion of the reality of melanoma patients across Canada.

If you are a patient, or a caregiver of a loved one afflicted by melanoma, or if you want to help a friend in this situation, there are several things you can do. Share your story, share this story, connect with someone who is sharing their story, encourage others to do the same. Together we can make a difference.

In May, write to your local government representatives, share your story or that of your loved one.  Help your MLA or MP to understand the needs of the melanoma patient, the needs of their constituents in their communities. Let them know you can’t wait, and that you need their help and their voice as your representative.

Discuss with them the impact melanoma has had on your very real life, and how it would benefit you, your family, and your community, if you were able to receive the treatment that could potentially save your life and return you to society as a melanoma survivor with the inspiration and ability to live to the fullest, as we all wish to do.

Save Your Skin Foundation has prepared some materials to help you to share your story this month, please click here to find examples of letters that will make it easier for you to contact your MLA.  Help us to help you fight for timely, equal access to treatment for melanoma cancer patients across Canada.

 

¹Canadian Cancer Society et al. “Chapter 1: Incidence: How Many People Get Cancer?” Canadian Cancer Statistics 2016: Special Topic: HPV-Associated Cancers. 2016. pp. 27.

²Innovative Medicines Canada. Innovative Medicines in Ontario: Valuable Investments into Healthcare, Innovation, and the Economy. pp. 2.

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Patient Leadership Education Summit

We are pleased to report the success of the Patient Leader Education Summit hosted by the Immuno-Oncology Network for Patient Organizations, from March 31st-April 1st, 2017! The Immuno-Oncology Network for Patient Organizations was an idea borne by the  Save Your Skin Foundation to facilitate the collaboration of patient advocates and cancer indications across Canada, to address the challenges and opportunities that new innovative medicines will bring to cancer patients and the cancer care ecosystem.

The goal of the Immuno-Oncology Network for Patient Organizations is to unify the patient voice and empower patient advocates to be fully engaged in healthcare decision-making and to work in tandem with all the stakeholders involved towards creating solutions for a sustainable system, ultimately translating to cancer patients having access to appropriate therapies. This includes being prepared to meet rapidly incoming immunotherapy treatments as efficiently as possible by fostering collaboration between different cancer types and volunteers from all segments of the fight against cancer. Working together will help to improve the approval process for these life-saving treatments by opening up dialogue, assessing the value of these new innovative treatments, and provide equal and timely access to appropriate treatments for patients who need them.
Attendees from across several cancer indications and sectors of the fight against cancer were present at the Summit, including patient advocacy groups, medical professionals, and representatives from the health technology assessment sector. The presentations covered a variety of topics and were informative, generating lively and productive discussions during the panels and the open forum meetings. Thank you so much to all who attended, and we look forward to working with you to improve the immuno-oncology landscape!

A copy of the program can be found here. Check out some of our social media coverage from the event!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSTqNsjDtgA/?taken-by=saveyourskinfdn&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BST26fWjmv5/?taken-by=saveyourskinfdn&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSUeADGD3zN/?taken-by=saveyourskinfdn&hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSV8s8KjdgQ/?taken-by=saveyourskinfdn&hl=en

 

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Patient Story: Lana Manson

My name is Lana Manson. I am forty-nine years old and have been happily married for twenty-six years to a loving, caring man named David. We have four busy and athletic children: Our eldest son, Josh, is twenty-five and a professional hockey player; our next child Meagan is twenty-three and in her 5th year of economics at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S), and has played for the U of S Huskies soccer team for these five years; completing our family are twins, Ben and Emma, who are seventeen and both very active in sports. Emma plays high school soccer and basketball, and will play soccer when she begins attending U of S next year, and Ben is active in hockey. Never have I let my cancer stand in the way of watching their games and events! 

I was diagnosed with melanoma in January 2014. The summer of 2013 I nicked a mole on my right calf while shaving. It bled a bit, but I didn’t think anything of it. It never changed colour, shape, or size. Though I wasn’t worried about it, my family and friends thought it would be best to get it checked out. I have always been covered head to toe in freckles and moles, and I had suntanned when I was younger, so I agreed to get a skin examination. The Doctor I went to decided it best to apply liquid nitrogen and burn the mole off. A few weeks afterwards the mole had healed into a weird looking blood blister. I was then referred to a skin specialist who informed me that this was a keloid, or a scar replaced with collagen; not the most attractive looking sore. The Doctor said that I could remove it but it may just grow back larger and worse than it was, so as it was only about the size of a pea I decided to leave it. The doctor finished the examination of my body and said all the other moles looked fine. All in all, I left there feeling like I was in a good place. 

A couple months later, around December, the keloid on my leg had began to bleed and emit puss from rubbing on clothing. I decided to go back to the skin specialist and have him check it. Unfortunately, he did not like the way it looked and thought it best to take a biopsy of it; this was December 21st, 2013.

The results got back to us January 7th, 2014. To mine, and my family’s dismay, the Physician informed us it was positive for melanoma and needed to be removed. Within the next week I had met with an Oncologist and a Surgeon and discussed what our plan of attack was going to be. The first step was to have the mole removed. I was booked in for surgery on January 21st, two weeks after finding out the mole was cancerous. While in surgery, they removed the entire area around the mole, as well as a few lymph nodes in my groin to see if the cancer had spread. 

After the surgery was done I began the recovery process at home. After a week or two, I was able to walk, so I decided to book a flight to Boston to watch my son play hockey. The day before I was booked to leave, the Oncologist informed me that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes and I was going to need another procedure to have more removed. I booked the surgery for the day after I got back and went on my trip. 

 The second surgery was on February 13th, in which they removed most of the lymph nodes in my groin. Following the surgery I had a meeting with the Oncologist again to set the dates of when I would begin my treatment program. 

After a CT and a PET scan showing I was all clear, they said I would need to start taking the drug interferon immediately. Afterwards, I was offered the option of radiation, which was 20 four-minute treatments, one per day, which were not painful. So I decided to do the radiation treatment, thinking it could only benefit me. Little did I know, this would end up being the cause for most of my future problems.

Once I started interferon, I had to go to the hospital in Saskatoon Monday through Friday for a month for injections.  Every few were in Prince Albert, but for the most part this meant my husband driving just over an hour and back to Saskatoon almost five times a week for all of the month of March. He made the process so much easier for me; I don’t know what I would have done without him. After the first month of intense treatment was done, it then reduced to every three days for eleven months. Fortunately, the needles could be self-injected at home making things easier. However, we were still driving to Saskatoon during the month of April for radiation treatment because it could not be done at the same time as the intense phase of interferon injections. 

I responded better than most to the interferon, however, the effects it had on my body were still substantial. I was constantly nauseated, headaches were a common theme, and I had no appetite whatsoever. Not even water tasted good to me anymore. Luckily, the summer months aren’t as busy for my children’s sports because I slept most of the days and was fairly inactive. All of this said, I was on the mend for the summer and thought things were looking up.  

Though, as summer wore on, I found my wound was not healing properly. At the end of August 2014, I went back to the Surgeon to get their opinion. The radiation treatment I had opted for had burnt my skin and I needed a debridement. This is where they scrape or cut away all of the dead skin, an extremely painful process. A month later, it still was not healing and I needed to go back for another debridement. Finally, after another month of it not healing I went back to the doctor and they found that the wound was infected. This ended in my last debridement, during which I had to be put under due to the pain.  After it was all said and done, the wound that started the size of a quarter had now expanded to a little bigger than a deck of cards. After my third debridement, a negative pressure wound therapy, or vacuum, was put over the wound to help it heal. I then needed to go for a dressing change three times a week at home care. Since my nerve was exposed in my leg, the pain was so considerable that I couldn’t walk. This also made the dressing changes an extremely uncomfortable experience. On top of Tylenol and Gravol, I was now taking morphine and sometimes a shot of Toradol. Suffice it to say, I was a mess.  

The vacuum was put on my leg at the beginning of September 2014 and would stay on for ten months. With the interferon injections still ongoing, it made the healing process go extremely slowly. However, I was scheduled to end my interferon treatments in April 2015; woohoo, a shining light at the end of the tunnel! Over the four months following being off the interferon, the wound was now healing more quickly and I watched as it shrank back to the size of a quarter. Though the vacuum was still on, I was already beginning to feel better. My appetite was coming back, there were no more headaches, and I was more active. At the beginning of August 2015, the vacuum was removed from my leg and the wound was now fully closed. I started playing volleyball again, I was exercising, and I was feeling a lot more like my old self!

Everything was going well until my six month checkup at the end of November 2015. My CT results showed two nodules in my lungs that raised some suspicions and a PET scan was scheduled for the beginning of January to get a better idea of what we were dealing with. The results came in and showed the nodules were too small to take a biopsy; we needed to just give them time to see how they react. I was scheduled for another PET scan at the beginning of March and it became a waiting game. I went for the scan in March and the results came back showing the nodules had grown and were more ‘active.’ The diagnosis was that the melanoma had metastasized to my lungs; it was back. They told me that even though you think the cancer has all gone, there is one cell that hides out and finds somewhere else to show up. Mine happened to be in my lungs. With melanoma its not about IF it comes back, but WHERE it comes back. On March 24th, I began receiving the drug Nivolumab, which I was scheduled to take for two years. 

On May 16th 2016, I had another CT scan accompanied by a breast biopsy, which showed that the cancer had metastasized to my breasts. We considered removing them but didn’t, as it would not stop the cancer from potentially spreading. It did continue to metastasize; In June 2016, two moles, one on my head and one on my back, came back as cancerous. At this point, my Doctors informed me that I was fighting for my life, as the melanoma was now in my skin and bloodstream. We began looking into clinical trials, though I was adamant that I didn’t want to move away from my kids for a treatment that might not work. I decided to go to Edmonton, a six hour drive away, to undergo the Ipilimumab and Nivolumab combination trial with Drs Michael Smylie and John Walker.

I began the combination drugs on July 27th, and would have to return to Edmonton for four cycles, one every three weeks, for treatment. At the time, fluid was building around my left lung that had to be drained regularly. I had a lung catheter put in and I would drain a litre of fluid every second day. In between my second and third treatment,  the fluid build up completely stopped! I went from needing to be drained every second day to no fluids. This was an amazing sign; obviously the drugs were working. There were also no major side effects, only itchy bumps on my torso that were easily treated. The catheter was able to be removed after my fourth treatment cycle on Sept 28th. 

On July 18th I had undergone an MRI which confirmed that the cancer had metastasized to my brain. We initially thought there was just one lesion and we would be able to do pinpoint radiation, but there were actually five lesions. After a second MRI done in Calgary on August 2nd, the lesions had reduced in number from five to four. As the drug appeared to be working in my brain, we decided to hold off on full brain radiation until until after the four cycles of treatment. The positive results continued in my next CT and MRI scans on October 6th, which showed that my brain and lung lesions were shrinking, and some had disappeared. Since October 19th I have been on maintenance treatment, which is Nivolumab once every two weeks. I will likely remain on this treatment until my next CT scan at the end of April; hopefully there will be nothing more to treat by then!

How am I feeling now? I feel great, but it is still an emotional roller coaster. They tell you you have cancer and you are sad and scared, then they say it is gone and you are so happy. Then they tell you it’s back and not looking good at all, so you are back to sad and scared. Then a miracle happens and you are going to be okay, so back to happy! Up, down, up, down. Everyday, you think it’s back because you wheezed a bit, or a bump that is itchy, or you have a headache, so you are always worried. Then, you are mad because no one understands this roller coaster and you feel like you are on it alone. Up, down, up, down. But you should not think like that and try to enjoy life. The ride has gotten a lot less bumpy from the start to now. 

I was so fortunate to have a very strong support group. My husband, my mom, my close friend, my kids, and other close family and friends. All of them were there to help, talk, cook, drive, or whatever I needed. That meant a lot and it was a very important part of getting well. 

It is also very important to believe in yourself. You have to want to fight and beat cancer. It can be done. I knew I had a convocation to go to, two graduations I have to be at, and later grandchildren to spoil! My time is not done. I have a lot of life left to live! 

Thank you to my Oncologists, Nurses, Doctors, family, and friends for helping me along the way. Especially my husband and children; I put you through a lot! 

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February Conference Recap: Canadian Melanoma Conference and ASCO SITC

As February comes to a close, we’d like to look back on the conferences we attended this month: the Canadian Melanoma Conference and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Orlando, Florida!

Here is a sample of our social media from these conferences!

Canadian Melanoma Conference

 

ASCO Florida

 

 

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Happy Valentines and Family Day from SYSF!

#ifyoulovethemcheckthem

It was shortly after Valentine’s Day three years ago that my 11-year old daughter told our family physician that I had an ugly mole I was neglecting. This action led to a scary diagnosis of stage IIIB metastatic melanoma, three surgeries, immunotherapy treatments on clinical trial, and it quite possibly was the thing that saved my life. My wise kiddo knew the mole wasn’t right, and she made sure I got it looked after, as any loving family member would do. 

Since that time, I have heard countless stories of family members noticing something that wasn’t right about a loved ones’ skin – by pointing out a mole or a bump or encouraging each other to prevent a sunburn by applying sunscreen or staying in the shade. Parents protect their children naturally, but children can also help their parents. Siblings, spouses, loved ones of every age and situation can help to save others from a deadly skin cancer diagnosis. 

Routine skin exams save lives – and who better to look over our personal spots than someone we love and trust? 

On Valentine’s Day many of us take the time to do something special for our sweeties, and in several provinces there is also a February holiday called Family Day.  It is no coincidence that it is timed near Valentine’s Day – it provides a needed winter break, and it gives us the opportunity to spend time with the ones we love. 

This loving week of the coldest month of the year is the perfect time to look after the things we may not otherwise notice. If our loved one had a persistent cough or a limping leg injury, we would take them to the doctor. Similarly, the skin, our largest organ, needs to be looked over for any unusual bumps or discolourations. 

It doesn’t take long; just check it!

My family does now – we check everyone as they come in the door – just kidding!  But we are very aware of the importance of skin health as part of our overall well-being. We are a skin cancer family. It’s not a chosen situation, it is simply a fact, as it is for millions of people worldwide who are affected by skin cancer of various forms. 

Part of our melanoma support system is the skin cancer family we have met through Save Your Skin Foundation. Many folks in this network I have met through words, by photos, videos, or by voice, and some even in person. They are household names to me now, they are my peers and my friends; we share a bond unique to others in my circle. 

I got to see some of my friends this week via a new video put together by Save Your Skin Foundation for presentation to the attendees of the 11th annual Canadian Melanoma Conference (CMC). 

It was a poignant compilation of patients and their families having the opportunity to thank the physicians, health professionals, researchers, and industry representatives at the conference. All of these individuals are part of the melanoma family across Canada and patients appreciate them as much as they regard each other. These are the people who help save our lives.

This video, and the presentation by Founder Kathy Barnard at CMC, is another example of how Save Your Skin Foundation represents the patient voice on the national level. Save Your Skin regularly meets with government stakeholders, pharmaceutical companies, and medical professionals to bridge the gap between these groups and the melanoma patient.                                                   

Without your support, connections such as this would not be possible.  Our melanoma family members are able to help each other across Canada with donations from our generous supporters. All donations go directly to patients and their families who need support while battling skin disease.

For Family Day, for our family and for your family, please do what you can to be healthy.  And take a moment to check your sweetie’s skin. If you love them, check them. 

Happy Valentines and Family Day!

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Letter from the President of the Save Your Skin Foundation

Happy new year!

We are delighted to announce that the Save Your Skin Foundation is now officially ten years old! It has been an incredible honour to represent melanoma patients, caregivers, and survivors across Canada and to be a voice for those who have lost their battle with the disease.

2017 will be another exciting year for the melanoma landscape, with increasing availability of innovative treatment options. As survival rates are taking an upturn due to these new treatments, we are excited to see that our focus now includes supporting a growing community of melanoma survivors. Hope for survival has become a viable option.

This progress comes with challenges. Treatments are still expensive, and the sequencing of treatments and timely negotiations continue to be problematic. Ensuring equal timely access of treatments to people who need them always has been, and continues to be, our primary goal. In 2017, we look forward to working on these challenges with our patients, caregivers, physicians, partners, and decision makers. When we were a small organisation in 2006, our goal was to provide compassionate care and support to those touched by melanoma; today, we are proud to say that we are able to do so collaboratively with the melanoma community.

We could not have come this far without your support. To all of our corporate and pharmaceutical funders, and every person who has donated: thank you. To every member of government and medical professional or scientist we have worked with: thank you. Most importantly, thank you to every patient who has ever contacted the Save Your Skin Foundation. We learn something new from every patient we encounter, regardless of your level of involvement with us.

By working as a team over the past ten years, we have made great strides in the treatment of melanoma and other skin cancers. By doing the same in 2017, we can only continue to make progress towards eliminating this disease and making a difference in the lives of many.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Barnard

 

Save Your Skin Founder and President Kathleen Barnard presents at the 2017 Canadian Melanoma Conference

Save Your Skin Founder and President Kathleen Barnard presents at the 2017 Canadian Melanoma Conference

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Save Your Skin Attends ECCO!

From January 27-30th, 2017, the Save Your Skin Foundation attended the European CanCer Organisation Congress (ECCO2017) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands! ECCO is a conference based in European cancer care delivery, which Save Your Skin desires to understand in order to shape the work we do in Canadian health policy and economics.

To find out more about ECCO, check out the website.

Here are some photos from SYSF’s time at ECCO:

The RAI Centre in Amsterdam

The RAI Centre in Amsterdam

History of Checkpoint Inhibitors: Key Milestones

History of Checkpoint Inhibitors: Key Milestones

Presentation by Georgina Long from Melanoma Institute Australia

Presentation by Georgina Long from Melanoma Institute Australia

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A Letter to Santa from the Save Your Skin Foundation

Dear Santa,

We hope you have had a good year! You’re probably busy getting things ready for Christmas, and we’ve been busy over here at the Save Your Skin Foundation too! We have had a year full of raising money to support melanoma patients, advocating for the movement of new treatments, and connecting the melanoma community.

One of our last tasks before our holiday break this year is to send off our Christmas list to you. Our biggest hope is that while you’re riding your sleigh, especially in sunny climates, you will be sun safe! We know you’re good about wearing full coverage clothing and a hat, but be sure to wear sunscreen on exposed areas like your face, the backs of your hands, and the back of your neck. We also recommend adding some sunglasses to your gear to protect your eyes from the sun, especially in areas with glare from snow or when you are flying over the ocean.

We hope you take our advice regarding your own sun safety, but we’re also worried about protecting your reindeer! We suggest that you outfit them with some sunglasses as well, and perhaps some little Santa hats to protect the tops of their heads. You can never be too careful!

Besides asking you to be sun safe while you deliver presents, we do have a couple of other wishes this year… We would love it if you could distribute sunscreen along with presents, and help us to advocate against artificial tanning. We could also use a new coffee machine for the office.

Thanks Santa, and be sun safe out there!

The Save Your Skin Foundation

shutterstock_157220057

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Save Your Skin and Giving Tuesday

On November 29th, Giving Tuesday is coming to Canada! A compliment to Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is a day that stimulates the community instead of the economy by facilitating donation to thousands of charities across Canada.
There are many charities worth donating to on Giving Tuesday, and we always encourage helping your community by donating. If you are considering donating to the Save Your Skin Foundation, we thank you– and would like to fill you in a little bit on what we’re up to, and how your money would be used.
First and foremost, the money donated to the Save Your Skin Foundation goes to melanoma patients. The primary goal of SYSF is supporting families during the worst time of their lives; therefore we want the cancer patient and their family to be able to focus on the fight against melanoma, by alleviating the financial strain of cancer treatment. Whenever possible, we offer monetary assistance for transportation, accommodation, and food costs to melanoma patients travelling for trial treatments. Emotional support is equally a priority– Save Your Skin Founder Kathy Barnard is approachable for advice and support from someone who has been through the melanoma journey. Kathy Barnard’s knowledge of the treatment landscape and connections with Oncologists, Dermatologists, and other medical professionals is often helpful to patients who are unsure of how to navigate the medical system, such as finding treatment options and preparing for appointments. We also strive to make our websites Save Your Skin and I’m Living Proof hopeful, informative, and supportive, as the internet is often a discouraging place to look for those fighting melanoma.
The Save Your Skin Foundation represents the patient voice on the national and international level with its presence at conferences and meetings in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Nationally, Save Your Skin regularly meets with government stakeholders, pharmaceutical companies, and medical professionals to bridge the gap between these groups and the melanoma patient. Medical knowledge is further imbued to the patient via our educational YouTube video series, and our Webinars. These webinars feature a wide range of topics and guests, from medical professionals to melanoma survivors, and live recordings of past webinars are available on our website. Further, in 2017, Save Your Skin intends to develop an immuno-oncology network for medical professionals, advocacy groups, and the melanoma patient to further assist the patient in navigating immuno-oncological treatments, a recent and exciting development in the melanoma landscape.
Due to these incredible advances in medical technology and trial treatments in the past decade, we are pleased to report that melanoma survivorship is at an all-time high. From this new group of melanoma survivors, we are learning that the fight with melanoma doesn’t end at remission. Save Your Skin has taken several steps to be supportive of melanoma survivors, including the I’m Living Proof initiative, which allows melanoma survivors to tell their stories and connect with each other, and melanoma patients; we often include survivors in webinars and forums we are involved in hosting; and in 2017, we are intending to launch our Melanoma Survivorship Pilot Project, which will include national media campaigns, a survivorship e-book, a survivor survey and report, and a microsite. We also intend to host a survivorship meeting in the Spring of 2017, to ascertain how the needs of survivors are being met and what improvements could be made.
We’re looking forward to Giving Tuesday, and hope you will consider the Save Your Skin Foundation when you are selecting the charities to whom you will donate. If donating is financially a stretch, you can still participate by volunteering for Giving Tuesday, and tweeting with the hashtag #givingtuesday to spread the word! Thank you for reading, and happy giving!

Donate to Save Your Skin via Giving Tuesday here

GivingTuesday Countdown

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