save your skin

Dr. Smylie Receives the CMC Legacy Award

Dr. Michael Smylie was the recipient of the 2023 Canadian Melanoma Conference Legacy Award which was presented on February 26, 2023. Kathy Barnard, Save Your Skin Foundation’s founder and former patient of Dr. Smylie, had the honour of saying a few words about this incredible doctor, friend, athlete and father. She read several testimonials from former patients and caregivers, including the following one from her very own sister, Rosemary Westie:

“To Mike,

When you love someone who’s diagnosed with cancer, the world as you know it comes to an end. When my big sister and best friend was diagnosed I was petrified. I couldn’t imagine a life without her in it, none of our family could. But sadly, as a family, you can only do so much. You can provide love, support, and hope, but at the end of the day, you’re still petrified, because love, support and hope can’t cure this relentless disease.

In the early years through the various treatments and surgeries my sister had, we always feared we were on borrowed time. Although she stayed strong and dealt with everything this disease threw at her, there came the day we dreaded, where we were told there was nothing they could do. The panic and fear that set in at that stage was indescribable, I simply could not breathe. But then, when we were at our most desperate, we were granted a miracle. And that miracle was you, Mike Smylie.

I know now, years later, that you are simply a lovely and humble man. You’re a wonderful dad and a friend to many. You are a tremendous athlete, and a connoisseur of excellent rum. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, your only flaw is that you are an Edmonton Oilers fan🤣.

But can I tell you, Mike, that when we first met under such dire circumstances, to me, my sister and our entire family, you were this divine, all-powerful, god like, super being, that had my sisters life in your hands. I wonder if you realized that you controlled the fate of our family. Our future, our happiness, whether she would live or die.

I think about that now, and what a huge burden that was to place on your shoulders, and to think that you didn’t just carry that burden for her, but for every single one of your patients.

I hope we weren’t asking too much of you Mike, but we needed you, desperately. You brought calm to our panic, you brought hope when we felt hopeless. You helped us understand what was happening, and what to expect throughout the treatment, which was invaluable when we were in the eye of the storm. You always made us feel like she was your only patient and your biggest priority, and we know you did the same for everyone single one of your patients. 🙂

You, my dear, just have to accept that you will always be our super hero. Not the one wearing the cape, but the one wearing the wings, and of course the tight bike shorts. 🤣Thank you Mike, for saving my sisters life.

Kath’s sister Rose”

Dr. Michael Smylie has been a good friend of the Foundation since its creation. He sits on our Medical Advisory Committee and has been a frequent presenter on our webinars, including our most recent Post-CMC 2023 Update webinar. Dr. Michael Smylie is a medical oncologist at the Cross Cancer Institute, and professor at the Department of Oncology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Congratulations Dr. Smylie!

Move for Melanoma 2022 – It’s a Wrap

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.

Team Ocumel Canada

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.

Check out his team page here.

Team Ani’s Keepers

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.

Check out her team page here.

Team Mela-No-More – In Honour of Laura

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

Check out their team page here.

Finally, we’d like to acknowledge the many businesses that stepped up to support our event this year. Please show them your support!

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.

Move for Melanoma 2022

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!

Hand in hand, we fight melanoma together!

See what we have planned for Melanoma Awareness Month 2022!

This year, Save Your Skin Foundation is running local, national and international campaigns to raise awareness on the importance of prevention and early detection of skin cancers. See a full list of our Melanoma Month initiatives HERE.

Press Release

Click here to read the news, April 29, 2022: Save Your Skin Foundation Runs Local, National and International Campaigns to Increase Skin Cancer Awareness During Melanoma Awareness Month

A common diagnosis with a rare outcome – Helen’s Story

Almost a decade ago, in 2013, Helen found a spot along her hairline that worried her. Two different doctors told her it was nothing to worry about before a dermatologist recognized it as cancerous and had it removed. And that was that, she was assured. Most skin cancers are easily dealt with and life goes on. But, based on her pathology report, Helen had a feeling that this ordeal was far from over.

It takes a village to stand up to cancer: Helen’s story via Macleans.ca

Sty-Lives OPHA Challenge

We have partnered with the Ontario Professional Hairstylist Association (OPHA) to create the Sty-Lives OPHA Challenge, which aims to train 200 hair professionals to detect potential skin cancers by May 31, 2022.

The initiative behind the challenge is Styling Hair & Saving Lives (Sty-Lives). Led by two medical students, with the support of SYSF, it aims to empower and educate hairstylists and barbers to detect suspicious skin lesions on the ears, face and scalp of their clients. Participating salons and barbershops are provided with training materials and resources and are taught how to detect suspicious spots. The purpose of the project is to help facilitate communication between the client and their healthcare provider, leading to earlier detection of potentially dangerous skin cancers.

As of this writing, the Sty-Lives OPHA Challenge has already reached 83% of its recruitment goal.

Melanoma Month Apparel

Check out our Melanoma Month Collection of Shirts perfect for the melanoma warrior or supporter in your life. As always, the proceeds from the sale of our SYSF merchandise goes directly towards supporting patients when they need it most. Visit our Etsy Store!

Thanks to Giving Hope Gala 2022 Sponsors & Supporters

This year’s pool party-themed gala was a lot of fun. A huge thank you to all who joined us and an even bigger thank you to all our sponsors who donated generously to make this event a success. We’ll have more information on the gala, including lots of pictures, in our next newsletter, so stay tuned!

Announcing the GetSkinHelp mobile app!

We want you to #StopWaiting and get your skin checked as part of #DigitalHealthWeek!

SYSF is proud to be partnering with Skinopathy for the launch of their mobile app: GetSkinHelp

The GetSkinHelp mobile app allows individuals to access the SkinAI™ technology – an embedded artificial intelligence that allows people to quickly analyze for a selection of skin diseases, including skin cancers – and schedule video appointments with a licensed Canadian doctor who can help determine next steps.

From there, the doctor might suggest an in-person appointment or simply write a prescription, which will be sent to the patient’s home or pharmacy. What is most important is that the app gets a person in front of a doctor faster than traditional means.

Watch this video to learn more:

Download the new free #GetSkinHelp app and have your skin concerns analyzed by their SkinAI™ technology. You can then schedule an appointment with a skin doctor and have them check it out virtually. And best of all, it is all covered by provincial health plans!

#StopWaiting and download the app now to get the medical attention YOU need:

Download the app for Apple | Download the app for Android

See a licensed doctor and heal your skin. All online. On any device.
And covered by Canadian health cards.

In the summer of 2020, Dr. Colin Hong and entrepreneur Keith Loo noticed that the medical delays caused by the pandemic had resulted in greater occurrences of late stage skin cancers being diagnosed. A few months later they created Skinopathy, a medtech company with one simple goal: find answers on how they can help solve this growing public concern.

Save Your Skin Foundation is proud to support the launch of GetSkinHelp – a new service covered by Canadian health cards that allows people to get prompt and virtual medical attention when it comes to skin diseases and skin cancers. Click here to read the press release

At Save Your Skin Foundation, we are an organization dedicated to reducing skin cancers in Canada and providing compassionate support to those living with skin cancer. And we are always on the lookout for ways that can help with that mandate, but we also acknowledge we are not the experts on advanced technology.

As part of Digital Health Week and the #StopWaiting and Get Skin Help campaign, with the folks at Skinopathy, we hosted this roundtable that will help us understand how healthcare is changing due to new technologies, and what needs to happen to keep patients safe.

The Future of Healthcare – Just Because We Can, Doesn’t Always Mean We Should

Healthcare and technology luminaries discuss how modern technology and social trends are changing healthcare, but are they all good things and what can be done to safeguard patients?

Moderated by Dr. Jonathan Reichental, with Guests – Ashley Casovan, Pirth Singh, and Keith Loo. Click here to view the Roundtable Discussion:

#StopWaiting and GetSkinHelp

Download the app for Apple | Download the app for Android

***Moderator***

Dr. Jonathan Reichental

Dr. Reichental is the founder of the advisory, investment, and education firm, Human Future. He is also a multiple-award-winning technology and business leader whose career has spanned both the private and public sectors. Most notably, he served as the chief information officer for the City of Palo Alto in California and in 2017 was named one of the top 100 CIOs in the World.

***Guests***

Ashley Casovan

Ashley has been at the forefront of building tools and policy interventions to support the responsible use and adoption of innovative technologies, both with her work at the Government of Canada, and now as the Executive Director of the Responsible AI Institute. She was also named as one of the top 100 most influential Young People in Government by Apolitical in 2018.

Pirth Singh

Pirth is a government maverick and trailblazer who has helped the government of Canada embrace open source technologies. He is now the Assistant Director General for the Industry Canada Innovation, Science and Economic Development team where he is leading the work on the development and implementation of digital credentials.

Keith Loo

Keith is the CEO and Co-Founder of Skinopathy, a Canadian medical technology startup that is revolutionizing the patient circle-of-care. He is heavily involved in the Canadian tech start-up community, consults out of several incubators and accelerators in the Greater Toronto Area, and is an entrepreneurship instructor at the Schulich School of Business.

Move for Melanoma After Party

Join the funnest part of MOVE FOR MELANOMA this year by joining our VIRTUAL AFTER PARTY! Celebrate with the Save Your Skin team, donors and fellow participants! Everyone is welcome!

The After Party will take place on Sunday, September 26th, 2021 at 5pm PT | 8pm ET on a platform called Topia. If you attended our virtual Giving Hope Gala in the spring, then you will know that Topia is a fun, new, online chat platform that allows us to connect virtually in a more human way. You’ll easily be able to move in and out of conversations with other attendees like you would in person with the platform’s spatial video, while also exploring a world full of surprises.

In the meantime, click here to share, participate in, and stay up to date on the progress of our 3rd annual Move for Melanoma event!

What you’ll need:

A computer or a tablet – You’ll need a Windows or Mac desktop or laptop computer equipped with a camera, or a Android Tablet or Ipad. For the best experience on Android tablets please use “desktop mode” in Chrome.
A supported web browser – Topia works best on Google Chrome, Edge, and Brave on desktop and laptop computers. For best results we recommend using one of these three browsers.
Headphones – There is ambient sound in Topia which is personal to you. Headphones ensure a great experience. Without headphones, higher volume can result in feedback for other guests or mixed sounds which isn’t fun for anyone.

How to join:

On September 26th at 5pm PT | 8pm ET, click on this link to join: https://topia.io/save-your-skin-foundation. Don’t bother trying to go on beforehand as it will not be available.
When you first go in, you will be asked to choose a display name.
Your browser will ask for permission to use your camera and audio. If you have Zoom/Teams/Skype open you won’t be able to do this, so please make sure they’re closed first.

What to do once you’re in:

You can move around the space using either mouse clicks or your arrow cursor buttons.
You hear and see people better the closer you are to their little “Topi,” or person.
If you walk away from people you hear and see them less. People “fade out” as they get farther away.
As you explore, notice when your cursor turns into a pointer. This indicates that the object your mouse is on has a function. Click to interact with the object.
You can mute yourself or others by clicking the speaker icon in the top right corner of your video or theirs. When muted the speaker will turn from black to red.
To send a private message to someone at the gala, click on the envelope symbol on their video. If someone sends you a private message, the envelope symbol to the left of your screen will become red.

For complete instructions on how to use Topia and join the party, click here!

Train Like the Canucks

We are thrilled to be partnering with Vancouver Canucks’ JT Miller and his wife Natalie this year to fundraise during Move for Melanoma.

Train Like the Canucks is a team that can be joined by anyone. People who join the team are challenged to complete a workout designed by JT Miller himself with the help of his trainer, which emulates a typical workout performed by the Vancouver Canucks hockey players.

All who join the team will be entered into a draw to win a signed Vancouver Canucks’ jersey and other prizes.

Funds raised by Train Like the Canucks will go to Save Your Skin Foundation, the only organization in Canada that supports skin cancer patients financially when they need it most, in the form of treatment costs, flights, accommodation and other necessary but costly expenses incurred while receiving treatment.

To learn more about JT Miller and his wife’s connection to Save Your Skin Foundation, watch the short video below.

Join Train Like the Canucks

Q&A

How can I join team Train Like the Canucks?

To join, start by clicking here to register. On the registration page, select “Train Like the Canucks” from the list of activities. If you’re a new user, create an account. If you’re a returning participant, login to your existing account. *If you’ve already registered for another team for this year’s event, you will have to join with a different account using a different email address.* There is a $25 registration fee to join the Train Like the Canucks team.

Does it cost money to be part of Train Like the Canucks?

There is a $25 fee to be part of Train Like the Canucks. All proceeds will go directly to supporting skin cancer patients in need. You are also encouraged to make a donation and to invite your friends and family to support the cause. We thank you in advance for your support.

When will I receive the Canucks workout plan?

Once you are registered with Train Like the Canucks, you will receive the workout plan by email within a couple of weeks. If you don’t receive it within two weeks, please look in your spam folder or contact marianne@saveyourskin.ca.

I tried joining Train Like the Canucks but I got an error message saying I’m already registered. What should I do?

Unfortunately, you cannot be part of more than one team with the same account. That means that if you’ve already registered for Move for Melanoma this year, you’ll have to create a separate account to join Train Like the Canucks. To do so, you will need to use a different email address. If you don’t have two email addresses and want to join, please email marianne@saveyourskin.ca to make arrangements.

Move for Melanoma 2021

Move for Melanoma is back!

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!

Hand in hand, we fight melanoma together!

SYSF Around the World

“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.

Click HERE to view and download the Guidelines

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:

Need help performing a self skin check? Click here for a video tutorial!

Also:

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

Dr. Smylie Receives the CMC Legacy Award

Congratulations Dr. Smylie!

Move for Melanoma 2022 – It’s a Wrap

We’d also like to highlight the three fundraising teams that raised the most this year.

2022 Sunscreen Dispenser Pilot

OUR 2022 SUNSCREEN DISPENSER PILOT HAS BEEN LAUNCHED!

New Westminster, BC

Summerside, PEI

Riverview, NB

Brooks, AB

Move for Melanoma 2022

See what we have planned for Melanoma Awareness Month 2022!

Announcing the GetSkinHelp mobile app!

Download the app for Apple | Download the app for Android

The Future of Healthcare – Just Because We Can, Doesn’t Always Mean We Should

#StopWaiting and GetSkinHelp

Dr. Jonathan Reichental

Ashley Casovan

Pirth Singh

Keith Loo

Move for Melanoma After Party

In the meantime, click here to share, participate in, and stay up to date on the progress of our 3rd annual Move for Melanoma event!

Train Like the Canucks

Join Train Like the Canucks

Q&A

Move for Melanoma 2021

Move for Melanoma is back!

SYSF Around the World

Click HERE to view and download the Guidelines

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SYSF Around the World