skin cancer awareness

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!

Looking Back at 2021

Our 2021 Annual Reports are out now!

It’s always a rewarding experience to look back on the past year and see how much the Foundation has accomplished.

Despite another year amid the pandemic, Save Your Skin Foundation and Ocumel Canada have continued to grow partnerships, operations and services, and reach more people touched by melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer and ocular melanoma.

We are extremely grateful to our community of patients, caregivers, healthcare providers and sponsors who continue to inspire and support us in our endeavors.

Click on the images below to view the reports:

A Viking’s Challenge 3rd Edition is Here!

In March of 2020, Chris Isfeld and his childhood friend Shawn Bjornsson completed a massive challenge. Three years after Chris was diagnosed with late stage melanoma and recovered from being partially paralyzed from the waist down, they ran 30km across frozen Lake Winnipeg and raised almost $20,000 for melanoma patients.

One year later, they were facing a different kind of Viking’s challenge: a global pandemic that kept Chris from returning to Gimli to run on the lake with Shawn. But that didn’t stop them from getting people all over Canada to join them in running and walking to raise funds and awareness wherever they were.

This year, life has thrown Chris yet another curve-ball. A large mass was found on his right adrenal gland, forcing him to stop training to focus on his treatment. Though Chris is hopeful that the immunotherapy treatment that saved his life in 2017 will help him overcome this latest challenge, he needs our support!

Let’s show Chris he is not alone on this journey by joining A Viking’s Challenge and pledging to run or walk! By channeling our inner Vikings, we will make a powerful statement of support for Chris and fellow melanoma patients across Canada.

All registrants will receive a charitable donation tax receipt and those who want one will receive a beautiful A Viking’s Challenge participant medal. To learn more about Chris’s story and previous years’ events, click here.

Event Details

When: March 4 – 6, 2022
Where: Anywhere in Canada. Shawn Bjornsson will be running in Gimli, MB, the largest icelandic community outside of Iceland.
How: To participate, you must first register here and pledge to run a certain number of kilometres. We will keep a running tally of the number of kilometres pledged and see how many times we can “cross” Lake Winnipeg.

Each participant will have the option to get a free medal to commemorate their participation. Special t-shirts and other merchandise are also available for purchase in our Etsy store!

As always, every dollar raised through this event will go directly to assisting melanoma, non melanoma skin cancer and ocular melanoma patients meet their everyday needs during treatment in the form of transportation, accommodation, child care and more.

So what are you waiting for? Register now and start training to channel your inner Viking!

Introducing Sty-Lives (Styling Hair and Saving Lives)

We are very pleased to be launching the Sty-Lives (Styling Hair & Saving Lives) program aimed at increasing early detection of skin cancer

The Sty-Lives program is being led by Dr. Miranda Waugh, first year Dermatology resident at the University of Ottawa, and Shannon D’Angelo, medical student at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, with the support of Save Your Skin Foundation, and leading Dermatologists across Canada.

Through the Sty-Lives program and video, 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. The goal is to help with detection, not with diagnosis. Click here to read the full press release

Help us spread the word!

All hair professionals in Canada are eligible to participate. The next time you get your hair cut, tell your hairstylist or barber about this project and invite them to visit www.saveyourskin.ca/sty-lives to learn more and to register.

Watch the video here:

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.

New! NCCN Guide for Patients – Basal Cell Skin Cancer

Save Your Skin Foundation is pleased to endorse and announce the release of the new Guidelines for Patients booklet on Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC, or Basal Cell Skin Cancer) from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®).

This informative pdf-downloadable or print version booklet will help patients understand their BCC diagnosis and support them through their surgical and treatment options journey. BCC primarily impacts lighter-skinned, sun-exposed people over age 60, due to the buildup of sun exposure over the years. However, skin cancer has recently become more common in younger people, likely as a result of them spending more time in the sun. In very rare instances untreated BCC can progress significantly and be life-threatening. This new resource provides trustworthy information based on the latest evidence, and is available online at NCCN.org/patientguidelines

NCCN^® guidelines are easy to read, free, well illustrated, valuable resources for patients and caregivers, available as online e-booklets, download-able PDF files, or on the “NCCN Guides for Cancer” app for iPhone or Android devices and tablets. Though these guidelines are developed with best practices in use in the United States, the resources do apply to patients and clinicians in Canada (where treatment options and accessibility apply), as confirmed with members of the Save Your Skin Foundation Medical Advisory Board. Canadian doctors do refer to the NCCN^® clinical guidelines, and they do support the distribution of NCCN^® patient guidelines to Canadian patients.

To view the full collection of National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® Guidelines for Patients on melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers and related treatments and resources, please view our page here:

NCCN Guidelines for Skin Cancers

And for more information about Basal Cell Carcinoma, including our 2020 webinar on the topic, please visit our page here:

About Basal Cell Carcinoma

The Patient books are available for free to view and print at NCCN.org/patients or via the NCCN Patient Guides for Cancer App: Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines^® App – Available for iPhone/iPad and Android Smartphone/Tablet

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®) is a not-for-profit alliance of 28 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education. NCCN is dedicated to improving and facilitating quality, effective, efficient, and accessible cancer care so patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers around the world.

With Thanks to All Move for Melanoma 2021 Participants, Donors, and Sponsors

A tremendous THANK YOU to all of our incredibly dedicated participants and generous donors!

95 participants and 29 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.

When we set the ambitious goal of raising $75,000 this year, we thought we might be aiming a little high. But clearly, we were right to dream big because, with your help, we ended up surpassing our goal!

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 five fundraising teams that raised the most.

Team Miller
Vancouver Canucks’ JT Miller and his wife Natalie fundraised in memory of Natalie’s mother who passed from melanoma last year. We can’t thank them enough for their support over the last year. Check out the Team Miller page here.

Team Mela-No-More
Based in Port Moody, BC, Team Captain Stefanie Lynch and her teammates organized a run/walk at Inlet Park and raised almost $11,000! Stefanie’s mother is currently fighting Stage 4 malignant melanoma. Check out her team page here.

Team The Eyes Have It
Based in Victoria, BC, Team Captain Nigel Deacon ran a marathon distance to inspire others to donate to this worthy cause. All together, his team raised an amazing $7,300 for ocular melanoma patients. Nigel was diagnosed with advanced ocular melanoma 10 years ago and now advocates for ocular melanoma patients across Canada.
Check out his team page here.

Team Stringer
Nicole and Michael Stringer hosted a virtual 3km or 5km run/walk in Red Deer Alberta and raised just under $5,000. Michael is currently fighting Stage 4 Melanoma. A heartfelt thank you to the Stringer Family. Check out their team page here.

The Laurence B. “For Life” Team
The Campbell River team, led by Laurence’s mother, Michelle, threw axes for 6 hours and raised almost $4,000. Amazing work everyone! Laurence is currently fighting ocular melanoma. Check out their team page here.

Move for Melanoma Sponsors

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

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!

See what we have planned for Melanoma Awareness Month 2022!

Looking Back at 2021

A Viking’s Challenge 3rd Edition is Here!

Event Details

Introducing Sty-Lives (Styling Hair and Saving Lives)

Help us spread the word!

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

New! NCCN Guide for Patients – Basal Cell Skin Cancer

NCCN Guidelines for Skin Cancers

About Basal Cell Carcinoma

With Thanks to All Move for Melanoma 2021 Participants, Donors, and Sponsors

A tremendous THANK YOU to all of our incredibly dedicated participants and generous donors!

We’d also like to highlight the five fundraising teams that raised the most.

Move for Melanoma Sponsors

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!

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Move for Melanoma 2021