Join Dr. Joël Claveau as he delves into the complexities of targeted therapy and immunotherapy, innovative cancer treatments known for their efficacy but also for potential side effects. Gain insights into the unique dermatological reactions associated with these medications, including their impact on skin, hair, nails, and eyes. Understand the nuances and differences in side effects compared to traditional chemotherapy drugs, empowering patients and healthcare professionals with essential knowledge for informed decision-making and proactive care.
Speaker:
Dr. Joël Claveau Dermatologist, Ville de Québec, QC
Dr. Joël Claveau is a dermatologist, specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of Melanoma and Skin Cancers, and an Associate Professor with the Department of Medicine at Laval University where he completed his Medical Study and Internal Medicine training. He did his residency in Dermatology at McGill University and subsequently worked at the Melanoma Clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Quebec. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology and is a member of a number of Medical Societies including the American Academy of Dermatology and the International Dermoscopy Society.
He has received awards including Honorary Member of La Société Française de Dermatologie, the Dermatologist’s Volunteer Award of the Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA) for his work on the prevention of skin cancers and the CDA Symposium of the year on two occasions (Dermoscopy). Since 1996, he has been the Director of the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Clinic at Le Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, and worked in Public Health for the province of Québec, especially on the new Tanning Bed Legislation. He participated to the publication of papers in peer-reviewed journals including work on melanoma, skin cancers and sunscreens. He is actively involved in various Continuing Medical Education events and investigator in many clinical trials on advanced and metastatic melanoma.
A tremendous THANK YOU to all of our incredibly dedicated participants and generous donors!
50 participants and 14 teams across Canada took part in Move for Melanoma this year! We have been so moved and inspired by this incredible community of patients, families, and friends.
After the success of last year, we once again set ourselves an ambitious goal of raising $75,000. With your help, we ended up reaching our goal once again this year!
Video wrap up
To wrap up this monumental weekend, we’ve created the Recap Video below. We hope you will take a few moments to watch it as we pay tribute to our incredible participants, donors and sponsors across Canada. You can also view our 2023 PSA with J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks!
We’d also like to highlight the three fundraising teams that raised the most this year.
Based in Victoria, BC, Team Captain Nigel Deacon ran a marathon distance to inspire others to donate to this worthy cause. Together with his fellow team members, they raised an incredible $12,777 for ocular melanoma patients.
Based in Powel River, BC, Team Captain Taylor Tomko created a family donation page in hopes of inspiring others to donate to this worthy cause. Together with her fellow team members, they raised an incredible $9,704 for melanoma patients.
Based in Nanaimo, BC, Team Helen’s Freewheelers raised funds in honour of Helen’s courageous battle against metastatic Basal Cell Carcinoma. She’s now undergoing immunotherapy on Vancouver Island and exploring more advanced treatment options and clinical drug trials. The team raised $6,000
We are happy to announce that Save Your Skin Foundation has partnered with the Ontario Professional Hairstylist Association to launch the Hair Heroes Challenge!
The Challenge calls on all hairstylists and hair schools across Canada to show off their skills and make a difference in the fight against skin cancer with Sty-Lives. This social media campaign in English and French aims to showcase just how simple and effortless skin cancer scalp checks can be.
Participating is easy, and participants have two options:
Options 1: Shoot a captivating video (60 seconds or less) where they demonstrate their hairstyling prowess while performing a skin cancer check on their client.
Option 2: Capture the transformation with a before and after photo of their client’s hair, following a thorough check or styling session.
We had the pleasure of being interviewed by OPHA about the Challenge. Watch the video to learn more.
Want to participate? Don’t forget to include our official hashtags, #HairHeroes & #Sty-lives2023, mention Sty-Lives, and let your imagination run wild! The SYSF team will be on the lookout for the most imaginative video that not only promotes Sty-Lives, but also showcases the importance of skin cancer checks. You’ll stand a chance to win an amazing prize that will leave you jumping for joy! So, grab those scissors, unleash your imagination, and get ready to win big with Sty-Lives!
This challenge is running through all social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram. Don’t forget to tag us!
Louise Binder from SYSF co-authored an excellent and insightful publication titled “A New Framework for Co-Creating Telehealth for Cancer Care with the Patient Community” published in The Patient – Patient-Centered Outcomes Research. Check it out here.
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 22-24th, 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.
To facilitate the whole thing, again this year, we will be using a custom website that allows people to register, donate, solicit donations, track progress and promote the event all in one place. The website also includes many resources for participants to help them get ready, and a Q&A page for more information.
If you’re interested in joining us, please visit Move for Melanoma 2023 and register now.
Save Your Skin Foundation is the only organization in Canada that supports skin cancer patients financially when they need it most. All the money raised through your donations goes directly to patients in the form of cab fares, treatment costs, flights, accommodation and other necessary but costly expenses incurred while receiving treatment.
Whether you’re a survivor who wants to bring hope to newly diagnosed patients, the family member or friend of a patient who wants to send a powerful message of solidarity, or a patient who wants to help change the face of cancer for ever, we invite you to take a stand against melanoma and to move with us this September!
In 2022, Save Your Skin Foundation ran three major patient surveys in order to collect patient-reported experience measure data (PREMs):
“The Patient Experience: Systemic Treatment of Adult Cutaneous Melanoma” (April/May)
“The Patient Experience: Treatment of Patients with Ocular Melanoma” (April/May)
“Patient Survey: Treatment Plan Decision-Making” (September/October)
Long-form reporting of the data for “The Patient Experience: Treatment of Patients with Ocular Melanoma” and “Patient Survey: Treatment Plan Decision-Making” are available on the Save Your Skin website. “Treatment Plan Decision-Making” was available in both English and French, and was developed in partnership with AIM at Melanoma. The following blog highlights some particularly notable outcomes from these surveys; we hope you find something of interest to you!
Highlights from “The Patient Experience: Systemic Treatment of Adult Cutaneous Melanoma”
When asked if they would consider it reasonable to receive additional treatments should their melanoma recur at a later stage, 78.26% directly indicated that they would be interested in additional treatments (Q12).
When asked specifically about their experiences on Pembrolizumab (Keytruda™), 73.68% reported enduring fatigue as a side effect, followed in frequency of votes by skin rashes (36.84%) and cognitive impairment (26.32%) (Q17). 61.11% found these side effects manageable (Q18).
95.45% of participants indicated that the side effects resulting from this therapy were worth it for the benefits of the treatment (Q19).
When asked if they would consider receiving drug therapy from a clinical trial, 77.27% responded that they would, should the need arise. Of the 22.73% that responded “not sure,” several added comments indicating that they would consider it, but would need more information (Q22).
Highlights from “The Patient Experience: Treatment of Patients with Ocular Melanoma”
63.63% of our ocular melanoma survey participant pool who have not received genetic testing would like to, suggesting that many patients see this as a worthwhile process (Question 11).
Unsurprisingly, eye-related side effects are the most common for patients with ocular melanoma. These include loss of vision (64.51% of responses), eye pain (16.12%), cataracts (9.67%), flashes of light in the eyes (12.9%), dry eyes (3.22%), macular edema (3.22%), and retinopathy (3.22%) (Q16).
82.35% of participants have ongoing follow up appointments/testing every 3-6 months (Q20).
79.31% of responses suggested that if their disease were to progress in the future, they would be interested in receiving additional treatments (Q21).
64.71% of survey participants indicated that if they were offered enrolment in a clinical trial, they would take it (Q24).
The most frequently cited side effects by participants receiving KIMMTRAK ® (tebentafusp-tebn) for their ocular melanoma were fatigue and skin rashes (both selected by 50% of participants) (Q28).
100% of patients who received KIMMTRAK ® (tebentafusp-tebn) noted that the side effects of this treatment were worth enduring for the survival benefit (Q30)
The most frequently cited barrier to accessing KIMMTRAK ® (tebentafusp-tebn) was having to travel to another city, which was both an inconvenience and a financial hardship (Q31).
Highlights from “Patient Survey: Treatment Plan Decision-Making” English language survey
When asked what was the most important topic to discuss with their healthcare team at the time of diagnosis out of the following options: “care plan,” “prognosis,” “treatment timeline,” “quality of life,” and “financial considerations,” survey participants selected “prognosis” as their primary concern, followed by “treatment timeline” and then “care plan.” That “quality of life” and “financial considerations” are the lowest priorities suggests that patients care about survival above all else (Q7).
Questions nine and ten demonstrated that patients are creating a treatment plan with their healthcare team along their ideal timeline, which is either at the time of diagnosis or between their first and third appointments.
The majority of survey participants (76.56%) stated that they understood at least “most” of the cancer-related information provided to them (Q12); however, 32.82% expressed dissatisfaction with the amount and quality of the information they received (Q21).
When asked what resource they most frequently turn to for cancer-related information (other than their healthcare team), the internet was cited by 82.54% of participants (Q13)
Questions 15 and 16 illustrated that 73.44% of participants feel they had an appropriate amount of input in developing their treatment plan.
When asked to prioritise the following factors when developing a care plan: “dosing schedule/logistics,” “long-term survival,” “risk of adverse events/side effects,” “financial concerns,” and “lifestyle and family implications,” patients ranked “long-term survival” as their highest priority (Q17).
When asked to indicate the two most significant challenges they experienced during treatment, the need for emotional support (60.94%) and the impact of physiological symptoms (45.31%) had the highest number of votes (Q27).
Highlights from “Patient Survey: Treatment Plan Decision-Making” French language survey
When asked what was the most important topic to discuss with their healthcare team at the time of diagnosis out of the following options: “care plan,” “prognosis,” “treatment timeline,” “quality of life,” and “financial considerations,” survey participants selected “care plan” as their primary concern, followed by “prognosis” and then “quality of life” (Q7).
Like the English language cohort, the French language survey participants received care plans along their ideal timeline of either at the time of diagnosis or between the first and third appointments (Q9, 10).
In the French language survey, a greater percentage of participants indicated having more responsibility for the development of their care plans. Only 27.27% felt “appropriately involved,” while 63.63% indicated that they made the decision more independently (Q15).
When asked to prioritise the following factors when developing a care plan: “dosing schedule/logistics,” “long-term survival,” “risk of adverse events/side effects,” “financial concerns,” and “lifestyle and family implications,” the French language patients also ranked “long-term survival” as their highest priority (Q17).
When asked whether they felt prepared for treatment, participants had polarised responses; 63.64% reported feeling “entirely prepared for treatment,” while 27.27% were “mostly unprepared for treatment” (Q24).
When asked to indicate the two most significant challenges they experienced during treatment, the French language survey participants voted most frequently for physiological symptoms (54.55%), followed by emotional support and a lack of information, which were tied for votes (36.36% each). This suggests that the need for emotional support is more satisfied for the French language survey participants (Q27).
The data from patient reported experience measures, sampled above, is instrumental to our operations as a patient group. We consider these reports when we are prioritizing our initiatives for the new year, preparing our strategic plans for patient support, education, awareness, health policy, and advocacy, and share them with other stakeholders in the cancer space. We hope this information was valuable to you, and that the new year brings you joy, prosperity, and good health.
A tremendous THANK YOU to all of our incredibly dedicated participants and generous donors!
74 participants and 20 teams across Canada took part in Move for Melanoma this year! We have been so moved and inspired by this incredible community of patients, families, and friends.
After the success of last year, we once again set ourselves an ambitious goal of raising $75,000. With your help, we ended up surpassing our goal once again this year!
To wrap up this monumental weekend, we’ve created the Recap Video below. We hope you will take a few moments to watch it as we pay tribute to our incredible participants, donors and sponsors across Canada.
We’d also like to highlight the three fundraising teams that raised the most this year.
Based in Victoria, BC, Team Captain Nigel Deacon ran a marathon distance to inspire others to donate to this worthy cause. Together with his fellow team members Martin Dawes and Linda Sendall, they raised an incredible $11,760 for ocular melanoma patients.
Based in Chilliwack, BC, Ani Davidson and her sisters challenged themselves to complete a combined 10,000 minutes of fitness between them in the month of September – and they crushed that goal, completing 11,820 minutes! Ani is currently undergoing treatment for melanoma.
Based in Vancouver, BC, Team Mela-No-More raised funds in honour of Laura, whom they lost after a long and courageous fight. Laura was a beautiful and strong woman, wife and mother. The team raised almost $5,370
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 23-25th, 2022. 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.
To facilitate the whole thing, again this year, we will be using a custom website that allows people to register, donate, solicit donations, track progress and promote the event all in one place. The website also includes many resources for participants to help them get ready, and a Q&A page for more information.
If you’re interested in joining us, please visit Move for Melanoma 2022 and register now.
Save Your Skin Foundation is the only organization in Canada that supports skin cancer patients financially when they need it most. All the money raised through your donations goes directly to patients in the form of cab fares, treatment costs, flights, accommodation and other necessary but costly expenses incurred while receiving treatment.
Whether you’re a survivor who wants to bring hope to newly diagnosed patients, the family member or friend of a patient who wants to send a powerful message of solidarity, or a patient who wants to help change the face of cancer for ever, we invite you to take a stand against melanoma and to move with us this September!
This year, we’ll be joined by Vancouver Canucks’ JT Miller and his wife Natalie to raise funds for melanoma skin cancer.
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 illnesses when they need it most.
This year, the event will take place on September 25-26th, 2021. 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.
To facilitate the whole thing, again this year we will be using a custom website that allows people to register, donate, solicit donations, track progress and promote the event all in one place. The website also includes many resources for participants to help them get ready, and a Q&A page for more information.
If you’re interested in joining us, please visit Move for Melanoma 2021 and register now.
Save Your Skin Foundation is the only organization in Canada that supports skin cancer patients financially when they need it most. All the money raised through your donations goes directly to patients in the form of cab fares, treatment costs, flights, accommodation and other necessary but costly expenses incurred while receiving treatment.
Whether you’re a survivor who wants to bring hope to newly diagnosed patients, the family member or friend of a patient who wants to send a powerful message of solidarity, or a patient who wants to help change the face of cancer for ever, we invite you to take a stand against melanoma and to move with us this September!
“SYSF works hard to bring resources from around the world to give Canadian skin cancer patients the latest information on treatment options and disease management.
This year our May campaigns have gone around the globe – from our long-standing participation in the Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy with the Melanoma Research Foundation to the Melanoma International Patient Advocates Coalition with AIM at Melanoma to Ocumel Canada’s partnership with the US, the UK, Ireland and Australia, all the way home to the NCCN Guidelines created in the US but used by our own Health Care Providers in Canada.
We hope you enjoy these resources and welcome questions or feedback any time.”
– Natalie Richardson, Managing Director, SYSF
We are very pleased to congratulate the National Comprehensive Cancer Network on the release of a new valuable patient/caregiver resource! Save Your Skin Foundation is proud to have provided endorsement for the Guide and have our Managing Director Natalie featured on the cover!
The new NCCN Guidelines for Patients® on Melanoma provides an extremely comprehensive and informational reference for patients covering melanoma basics, testing, staging, treatment and recurrence.
In collaboration with the Global Coalition for Melanoma Patient Advocacy, hosted by the Melanoma Research Foundation in the United States, Save Your Skin Foundation participated in the making of this skin check awareness video for Melanoma Awareness Month 2021, featuring melanoma patients and caregivers from across the globe demonstrating that the time it takes to do a skin self-exam is the same as that of drinking a cup of coffee. Check it out:
Save Your Skin Foundation is a proud member of MI-PAC, a coalition of organizations across the globe committed to reducing the global melanoma burden through education, advocacy, and collaboration. MIPAC, hosted by AIM at Melanoma in the United States, works to increase awareness and change public perceptions of melanoma, empower melanoma patients to take an active role in their care, and effect change in regulatory policies to optimize treatment and care.
Watch for our upcoming patient stories and continued awareness initiatives right here at home in Canada! For more information or support please contact us at kathy@saveyourskin.ca / 1.800.460.5832
Team Ocumel Canada
Move for Melanoma is back!
Dr. Joël Claveau is a dermatologist, specialized in the diagnosis and treatment of Melanoma and Skin Cancers, and an Associate Professor with the Department of Medicine at Laval University where he completed his Medical Study and Internal Medicine training. He did his residency in Dermatology at McGill University and subsequently worked at the Melanoma Clinic at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Quebec. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology and is a member of a number of Medical Societies including the American Academy of Dermatology and the International Dermoscopy Society.
He has received awards including Honorary Member of La Société Française de Dermatologie, the Dermatologist’s Volunteer Award of the Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA) for his work on the prevention of skin cancers and the CDA Symposium of the year on two occasions (Dermoscopy). Since 1996, he has been the Director of the Melanoma and Skin Cancer Clinic at Le Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Hôtel-Dieu de Québec, and worked in Public Health for the province of Québec, especially on the new Tanning Bed Legislation. He participated to the publication of papers in peer-reviewed journals including work on melanoma, skin cancers and sunscreens. He is actively involved in various Continuing Medical Education events and investigator in many clinical trials on advanced and metastatic melanoma.