Canada

Coping with the Emotional Impact of Cancer – Mental Health Week

Empowerment Through Connection: Join us during Mental Health Week for a special webinar tailored to individuals actively managing their cancer diagnosis, caregivers providing unwavering support, survivors navigating the aftermath, and anyone touched by cancer.

We’ll delve into the unique emotional and psychological dimensions of the cancer journey, fostering resilience and building connections within this community.

Our featured speakers include

Dr. Sue Johnson, Founding Director of the Ottawa Couple and Family Institute and the International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy;
Lyanne Westie, SYSF Wellness Support Consultant;
Guest speaker

Join us for an enriching and supportive discussion that aims to empower you on your cancer journey. Together, we can foster resilience and build lasting connections.

REGISTER TODAY!

Patient Fireside Sunshine Chit-Chat: A Virtual Summer Catch-Up

5-6 PM PT | 8-9 PM ET

AUGUST TOPIC

Fireside Sunshine Chit-Chat: A Virtual Summer Catch-Up

This call will last 1 hour!

Fireside Sunshine Chit-Chat: A Virtual Summer Catch-Up

We are delighted to invite you to our upcoming Fireside Chat, where we will embrace the carefree spirit of summer and bask in the sunny side of support! 🌞

This month’s chat will be a summer-themed get-together filled with meaningful conversations and connections. Instead of adhering to a specific agenda, we have designed a relaxed environment for engaging discussions and positive interactions. 🏖️

Whether you have experienced cancer firsthand, are a survivor, a dedicated caregiver, or simply seek understanding companionship, this gathering is tailored to suit your needs. Join us as we share personal journeys, catch up, lend empathetic ears, and forge lasting bonds that will illuminate this summer season. 🌈

Our aim is to cultivate a support community that radiates warmth and comfort. So mark your calendars, share the news, and let’s create unforgettable memories this summer! We look forward to seeing you there!

REGISTER TODAY!

Move for Melanoma

Move for Melanoma is an activity challenge that takes place across Canada. The goal of the event is to bring awareness to melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer and ocular melanoma, while raising funds to support patients affected with these diseases when they need it most.

This year, the event will take place on September 22-24, 2023. As always, participants will be able to choose a physical challenge of their choice to complete on the weekend of the event. Participants will form teams and, together with their friends and family, try to reach their personal fundraising goals.

We’ve made it super easy for you to participate! To get started, sign up here. You can register as a Team Captain, as an individual or join an existing team. Once you’ve registered, we’ll email you some resources to help you recruit team members and encourage people to start donating to your team.

Then, on the weekend of Sept. 22-24, we’ll invite you to complete your chosen activity and take lots of pictures to capture the fun.

Learn More & Register

Monthly Patient Fireside Chat – Nurturing Wellness and Self-Care in Cancer Patients, Caregivers & Survivors

JULY TOPIC

Nurturing Wellness and Self-Care in Cancer Patients, Caregivers & Survivors

Join us for our upcoming July Fireside Chat, where we will be focusing on an important topic that often goes unnoticed – the wellness and self-care of patients, caregivers, and survivors who have faced melanoma, non-melanoma, skin cancers, and Ocular/uveal melanoma in the past.

Amidst the recent discussions in oncology and Survivor Day, we believe it’s essential to take a moment to pause, breathe, and check in on everyone’s overall well-being. Our Fireside Chat will provide a safe and supportive environment for open conversations about wellness, self-care, sharing experiences, and exploring strategies for support.

Whether you have personally battled cancer or have been a caregiver or survivor, we invite you to join us for this meaningful discussion. It’s crucial to acknowledge the emotional impact that cancer can have and provide resources and support for maintaining overall well-being throughout the journey.

Together, let’s create a space where we can listen, empathize, and learn from one another. Mark your calendars and join us for this July Fireside Chat dedicated to nurturing wellness and self-care in those affected by various forms of cancer.

REGISTER TODAY!

A Historic Milestone: Manitoba Proclaims May as the First Provincial Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month

May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and this year marks a significant achievement as the Province of Manitoba joins the cause by proclaiming May 2023 as the first-ever Provincial Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Save Your Skin Foundation and Ocumel Canada are at the forefront of this initiative, leading local, national, and international campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of prevention and early detection of skin cancers.

Discover a comprehensive list of initiatives for Melanoma Skin Cancer Month and Ocular Melanoma awareness HERE.

For the fourth consecutive year, Save Your Skin Foundation’s proclamation initiative has invited Canadian municipalities to take a firm stance against skin cancer and educate their communities about sun safety through mayoral proclamations. As of May 25, 2023, an impressive 43 municipalities have committed to declaring May 2023 as ‘Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month.’ Check the list HERE to see if your city is among them.

The Honourable Audrey Gordon, on May 25th, 2023, officially proclaimed the month of May 2023 as Melanoma and Skin Awareness Month in Manitoba. This remarkable step underscores the government’s recognition of the importance of efforts aimed at reducing the incidence of skin cancer.

"The Save Your Skin Foundation's tireless work and initiatives in raising awareness about non-melanoma skin cancers, melanoma, and ocular melanoma through nationwide education, advocacy, and awareness campaigns are truly commendable. Our government acknowledges the significance of efforts to reduce the incidence of skin cancer. I extend my best wishes to Save Your Skin Foundation for the success of their planned events during Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month."

Hon. Audrey Gordon

We are immensely grateful to the Honourable Audrey Gordon for her support and belief in the importance of sun safety.

Additionally, members of our SYSF team have had the privilege of presenting to the Mayors and Councils of several municipalities nationwide, sharing their personal experiences as patients and spreading the crucial message of sun safety and early detection of skin cancer.

2022 Sunscreen Dispenser Pilot

OUR 2022 SUNSCREEN DISPENSER PILOT HAS BEEN LAUNCHED!

Save Your Skin Foundation partnered with medical student siblings Samuel and Karen Farag, and the municipalities of Summerside, PEI, Riverview, NB, New Westminster, BC, and Brooks, AB – as well as BC Cancer – to launch 10 dispensers in early August 2022.

The dispensers are automatic and touchless, and provide free, Health Canada approved SPF 30 sunscreen for anyone who needs it. The sunscreen is zinc oxide based, free from chemical sunscreen filters, common allergens and toxic ingredients including oxybenzone, avobenzone, retinyl palminate, PEG, parfume, and sodium lauryl sulphate. See image below for more details.

Here are the locations of the dispensers as of August, 2022:

New Westminster, BC

Moody Outdoor Pool
Hume Outdoor Pool
Grimston Park Wading Pool
City Parks Works Yard to support City staff working in the outdoors

Summerside, PEI

Summerside Turf Field
Leger Park
Summerside Boardwalk
One mobile dispenser to be used for festivals and public events

Riverview, NB

Behind the gazebo on the Riverfront Trail

Brooks, AB

Duke of Sutherland Park and Splash Pad

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.

Affixed to the Dispensers is a list of the sunscreen ingredients and reference to Health Canada’s approval of the sunscreen, as well as a disclaimer with respect to the use of the Dispenser or the sunscreen contained therein:

THE SUNSCREEN IS BEING USED AT YOUR OWN RISK. None of Save Your Skin Foundation, (participating cities), nor anyone else connected to these organizations, makes any assurances, representations, guarantees or warranties with respect to the use or effectiveness of the sunscreen or dispenser, and any and all use of the sunscreen or dispenser is done at your own risk. By using the sunscreen or the dispenser, you acknowledge and agree that none of Save Your Skin Foundation, (participating cities and organizations to be listed) nor anyone else connected to these organizations are responsible for the results or consequences from any use of the sunscreen or dispenser.

Canada Has A Skin Cancer Problem

This week marks the beginning of our support of the Euro Melanoma campaign: The World Has A Skin Cancer Problem.

While meeting with the Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy last year in Australia in conjunction with the World Congress on Melanoma, we learned that the group in Europe (Euro Melanoma) who created this eye-catching campaign were inviting members of the Global Coalition to participate from their home countries.

This campaign will be a platform to explore and highlight the human and financial cost of skin cancer from a macro perspective – around the globe. Through this conversation they will ask some important questions, about true incidence and mortality rates for all skin cancers, patient care pathways, and what is being done to address primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. This campaign will highlight the scale of the skin cancer problem and position it as a national epidemic – together, we will awaken ‘the sleeping giant.’

Save Your Skin Foundation is proud to support and share this campaign to increase awareness of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. We thank Euro Melanoma for their hard work and collaboration, and we appreciate the sponsors and partners of the project. Watch our social media channels for more on this initiative, and as always, feel free to contact us if you would like more information! info@saveyourskin.ca

About the Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy: Click here to go to their introductory web page. Save Your Skin is proud to be working with US-based Melanoma Research Foundation and the many other groups in the Coalition. More on this is developing as we work together from our locations around the world to improve the lives of melanoma patients and their families. Stay tuned!

A Thank You from Melanoma Caregiver

Written by Connie, wife and caregiver to her husband and melanoma patient, Ted.

A year ago my husband was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma with metastases to the lungs. Our world suddenly and drastically changed where fear and worry took over our days. In a whirlwind of appointments and consultations it became apparent that there would be numerous tests, scans, followup appointments and overnight trips that would take us to a specialized oncologist. Of course there was the chemotherapy as well. Once things became somewhat routine like, if I may be brave to say so, of just becoming a new norm the other part of life began to take over. Suddenly, I became the main income earner for my family along with caregiver alongside being a mother. How were we going to get through this? Or, how was I going to get use to looking at my husband daily crying inside with the thought of losing him to this dreadful disease? Living in a very rural and remote area I had no options for caregiver support, I had no family support and so I stood alone in my rollercoaster emotions trying to be strong and positive for my husband. Then one day I came across the Save Your Skin Foundation and met 2 incredible people, Karran Finlay and Kathy Barnard. These 2 people reached out to me from a distance, listened to me and in doing so I began to feel hope and renewed strength. I suddenly felt that maybe I wasn’t alone and I continue now to feel this way as I know in my heart that they are there and will continue to be so as the journey of fighting cancer continues with my husband.

Right now there is not a lot I can do to give back to this incredible Foundation and these 2 beautiful, compassionate women, but I can write this to say THANK YOU! To say that without them, I as a caregiver would be totally lost and in despair. To say THANK YOU for not ignoring me, for listening everytime I email or phone, for never being too busy to open your hearts! THANK YOU!

What is a Patient Advocate?

A patient advocate is someone who looks out for the best interests of a patient. A patient advocate speaks out in favour of a cause or idea such as ensuring there are more and better treatments and services available.

Governments always have dozens of projects and causes competing for their attention and their funds. It’s a cliché to say that “the squeaky wheel gets the grease,” but it’s also often true.

But an advocate can’t just make noise and expect results. It’s vital to know:

what to say
how to say it
who to say it to
when to say it

Effective patient advocates need to be well informed and have clear and plausible requests that are brought to the right people at the right time. Good advocacy can make very important positive change.

Advocacy is also important in shaping public opinion about issues, since public opinion is the major driver of government policy.

Recent changes to laws to ban children from tanning salons and the raising of public awareness about the dangers of tanning salons for everyone are examples of how advocacy has made a big difference for skin safety in Canada.

How to Become a Patient Advocate

Save Your Skin Foundation does many advocacy activities, such as meeting with and sending information to government officials. If you would like to help us with these activities in your area, we’d love to have you join us.

We can discuss the things you can help us with, and provide you with some tips, training and information that will make you an effective patient advocate.

To get started, send an email to natalie@saveyourskin.ca. You can also download a copy of Save Your Skin Foundation’s 2016 Advocacy in Action package here: SYSF 2016 Advocacy in Action

Together #WeCanICan create awareness of #WorldCancerDay on February 4th!

A truly global event taking place every year on 4 February, World Cancer Day unites the world’s population in the fight against cancer.

Together, #WeCanICan create awareness of #WorldCancerDay on February 4th!

Get to know some of the people in the fight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EGkPVLQvx0

Coping with the Emotional Impact of Cancer – Mental Health Week

Empowerment Through Connection: Join us during Mental Health Week for a special webinar tailored to individuals actively managing their cancer diagnosis, caregivers providing unwavering support, survivors navigating the aftermath, and anyone touched by cancer.