Welcome to our Autumn Enews

Welcome to the Autumn edition of our quarterly enews, especially to those who are receiving this for the first time. We hope you find our correspondence informative. If you have attended one of our awareness presentations, you would know that we encourage you to use the change of season as a reminder to perform a self skin examination. Remember "early detection saves lives". For more tips on what to look for when examining your skin, visit our website.

NEW CHAIRMAN - WAYNE HARVEY
Earlier this year saw a passing of the baton with the welcoming of our new chairman. He shares the following with us:

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR
The Foundation is now 12 years old. Its formation in 2006 was driven by just a few people passionate about developing a cure for melanoma. Our current 3-year strategy maintains that objective and adds prevention and management to the pursuit of a cure. Last year the board and staff believe 2018 will see a strengthening of the Foundation's ability to help with the early detection and prevention, and our ability to support those suffering from "Australia's National Cancer".

Our Board Chair Jeff Carr stepped down from that role at the end of 2017 but will remain on the board as a director. I have accepted the position of Chair and intend to continue open communications to keep the Foundation community informed of key decisions and developments. In coming months, you will be introduced to new people, hear about arrangements with other organisations and learn about new ventures and our successes. In the meantime, we would love for you to join us in the 2018 Melanoma March events.
Wayne Harvey

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our previous Chairman Jeff Carr for his 6 years of direction and commitment and we look forward to continuing our association with Jeff.

BIG DOLLARS FROM LITTLE VILLAGE
In February we ventured south to the Elliott Gardens Lifestyle Village in Port Elliott to deliver our acclaimed Melanoma Awareness Presentation. Residents of the village excelled in their fundraising for us by holding a raffle and charging a gold coin entry. Over $1300 was donated to us and we thank the organisers both for the donation and the opportunity to spread our message further.
Our awareness presentations are described as “informative, engaging and so important”.
Please contact us if you would like to host a presentation at your work place, sporting or community group. We’ll tell you things about melanoma you never knew and arm you with the tools for prevention and identification of melanoma.

SUPPORT NURSE NEWS
I am delighted to let you know that my vision of providing support to the melanoma community has been further embraced by the AMRF board, allowing for an expansion of the service. I am privileged to work alongside a group who see as clearly as I do, the need for, importance and benefit, of tailored support for all individuals affected by melanoma.
On Feb 13^th I was invited by Melanoma Institute Australia to participate in a consumer forum held as part of a day long melanoma conference at the University of Sydney. The theme of the forum was highlighting patients ‘unmet needs’ and was well received by the audience which comprised mostly medical practitioners. As a consumer/patient advocate and representative I welcome your feedback on any issues surrounding melanoma experiences, treatments or issues you feel need a voice.

The Melanoma Support Nurse can offer free, confidential advice, support and guidance to all individuals affected by melanoma, both patient and family alike. Please email: nurse@melanomaresearch.com.au or call 1300 561 313

RESEARCH CORNER
Melanoma research remains at fever pitch with in excess of 50 different treatment trials being conducted around the globe and with Melanoma Institute Australia one of the fore-runners. The following are some articles of interest. Please click on the link to be directed to the full text.

Combining Treatments for Better Results – a study that has achieved exciting results by combining limb infusion chemotherapy with immunotherapy for patients with in-transit melanoma on the arm or leg.

Melanoma Cases Could Fall By A Third - New modelling by researchers shows how 28,071 fewer melanomas could be diagnosed and what we need to do to achieve that.

Immunotherapy for Cancers Other Than Melanoma – data is emerging that is showing immunotherapy treatments are effective for many types of cancer. However, the challenge now is to speed up the process enabling access to these drugs for more patients with other cancers.
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Don't forget MELANOMA MARCH is just around the corner. There are 21 events being held right around the country so jump online and see if there is one near you. This is your opportunity to contribute to vital funds for melanoma research.
In South Australia we are hosting two events:

Mt Gambier on Sunday 4 March at Blue Lake Reserve, and
Adelaide on Sunday 18 March at Henley Square

To find out more details, register to walk or to sponsor someone who is walking, visit melanomamarch.org.au or turn up and register on the day. You can also follow the campaign and hear some inspirational stories on Facebook.

Last but not least, we are always looking for volunteers to help with our events. If you are interested in becoming an AMRF helper, please fill out a Friend of the Foundation form and we'll be in touch.

Until our Winter Newsletter, stay sunsafe and follow us on Facebook.