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WELCOME TO THE WINTER EDITION OF OUR QUARTERLY E-NEWS
Well, we never thought winter would arrive after experiencing a long hot summer, but here it is and it's as good a time as any to book your yearly skin check.
You may be ready to hibernate but not melanoma, remember early detection is the key and that UV exposure is not linked to temperature and melanoma can occur all year round.
So book yourself and the family in for a check today.
Click on the link below to see useful ways to monitor your skin and detect the early signs of melanoma.
http://www.melanomaresearch.com.au/about-melanoma/early-detection.html
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MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO
Being the new CEO of AMRF, I am extremely conscious of the challenges of leadership, of the unease brought about by change, being open to ideas and opportunities, being proactive so as to excel in achieving the objectives of our three pillars: Awareness, Research, Support.
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A revitalised strategic framework is currently being developed by the AMRF Board to enable the setting of vision, direction, activities and operational plans. The core focus is clarity of purpose, securing and strengthening the reason AMRF exists, followed by what needs to be developed and delivered, indeed the very structure required to achieve our purpose.
In my first two months I am amazed and respectful of donations received from varying sources such as funeral services, in lieu of birthday gifts, community fundraisers, online contributions from family and friends. When receiving donations, the reason behind this generosity is very moving with donors naming their loved one who has recently (or not so recently) passed or perhaps living with or surviving melanoma.
Each and every donor who can be identified receives from AMRF an acknowledgement, this communication is paramount in the day to day core reason the AMRF operates in accepting such contributions.
Then there are the AMRF Volunteers, Friends of the Foundation, Melanoma Messengers and Melanographers who all give so willingly – each and every one of you are what makes this Foundation go from strength to strength. Thank you so very much and as you know were in our thoughts during the recent National Volunteers Week.
Rug up during winter, it may be cold but the sun is still there so remember to keep up with regular skin checks.
Julie Calvert
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NEW NATIONAL GUIDELINES
New national medical guidelines for diagnosing and treating melanoma have recently been released. Professor Thompson from Melanoma Institute Australia says "The melanoma treatment landscape has changed dramatically in recent years due to extensive and ongoing research and clinical trials, and it is vital that frontline healthcare professionals across Australia are aware of new diagnostic techniques and treatments that are saving lives." The new guidelines contain sweeping changes that are all evidence based and have huge potential to save lives and benefit patients. The guidelines address every stage of melanoma and are published on an online platform that can be quickly and readily updated should processes change in the future. The guidelines are easily accessible by both patients and medical professionals, being hosted on the Cancer Council website, which also enables the public to confirm that any treatment recommended for them is indeed best practice. The guidelines can be found at: http://bit.ly/melanomawiki
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RESEARCH FINDINGS
Tackling drug resistance - Cancer cells that become resistant to treatment appear to become simultaneously vulnerable in other ways. Soon, the ability to identify and target that vulnerability might lead to a new therapeutic strategy that outsmarts the cancer. This is very relevant to melanoma patients on B-RAF targeted therapy.
Where Melanoma is A National Cancer - Did you know that approximately 14,000 Australians will be diagnosed with melanoma this year? And that 2000 individuals are expected to die from it? This article shines a light on other important facts as well as the online tool devised by QIMR Berghofer Medical Research in Queensland, to calculate your melanoma risk.
An Association Between Aspirin and Melanoma? - Does long term daily aspirin use increase your risk of melanoma? Well if you are a man, it appears that way.
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TAX TIME - EOFY
Did you know that if you make a donation of $2 or more to AMRF before the
end of the financial year, you can claim it as a tax deduction? If you donate we can continue funding research and raising awareness, so thank you for your support.
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MELANOMA MARCH 2018 FUNDRAISING TALLY ANNOUNCED
An amazing $620,000 was raised from the National Melanoma March campaign. Thank you to all who participated and donated. Special thanks to the Adelaide & Mt Gambier teams of participants and volunteers who raised $43,000 from South Australia, 7% of the national tally.
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MALLEE MELANOMA AWARENESS DAY 2018
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Saturday 2nd June saw our third annual Mallee Melanoma Awareness Clash. This year we travelled to Karoonda for the highly anticipated game between the top two teams Karoonda and Border Downs Tintinara. Our amazing friends from Molechecks Australia conducted free skin spot checks on the day and thanks to the ABC radio coverage, people came from far and wide to make the most of a service that is not readily available in some regional areas. Of the 41 people screened, 10 needed follow up and 3 had a lesions showing features suspicious of melanoma.
All the players on the day received a chat from Ben Kerslake, melanoma survivor and B Grade player for Karoonda and donned yellow arm bands for melanoma awareness.
A huge thank you to all those involved in making the event such a success.
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WHAT'S ONE OF THE EASIEST WAYS TO HELP US FUNDRAISE?
People’s Choice Community Lottery is just one of the ways we fundraise each
year for our much needed funds.Thank you to everyone who has purchased tickets online already. Our goal is to raise $5,000 from online ticket sales, and
we would love you to help us reach this target! You can buy $2 tickets online to support AMRF ~until 31st August. You'll go into the draw to win one of 100 awesome prizes valued at over $360,000! We also have books available, so please email admin@melanomaresearch.com.au and order yours today.
(10 tickets at $2 each ) Don't forget that 100% of proceeds from our ticket sales come directly to the AMRF!
Click on the link below to purchase your tickets - thank you for your support and good luck!!
https://www.peopleschoicecu.com.au/australian-melanoma-research-foundation
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Should you or anyone you know need support along their melanoma journey,
our nurse can be there every step of the way. This is just one of
our initiatives that really is of great benefit to those in need.
Contact our Melanoma Support Nurse. via email at
nurse@melanomaresearch.com.au or phone 1300 561 313.
For more melanoma news, please like our Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/amrfmelanoma/
Thank you for your support.
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