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How Jaqueline’s Promise and Persistence Paid Off

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Jacqueline Smith was 21-years-old, graduating from college with the world in front of her. There was, however, a persistent lump that continued to grow. Despite being told by her college health clinic that it was nothing, Jacqueline followed her gut and kept pushing for an answer. When she got it, it was the last thing in the world she expected: stage 3 melanoma.

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This Engineer is Building a ‘Better’ Biopsy

Biopsies are an important tool to determine if a mole or other lesion is cancerous. For most patients, the occasional biopsy is no big deal. However for patients facing multiple abnormal or otherwise ‘suspicious’ spots in highly visible places the prospect can be daunting. Dr. Jesse Wilson, an MRA-funded investigator, is an engineer on a mission to build a better biopsy.

MRA Launches Fight Back Give Back Campaign

When patients understand all of their options, including clinical trials, they can make informed decisions about their care. For many patients, clinical trials represent the best possible way to get access to cutting-edge treatment options. Yet, only 1 out of 4 cancer patients know anything about clinical trials.

MRA developed the Fight Back Give Back to help patients and their loved ones understand the important role clinical trials play in patient care and our research process.

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Is it Working? Imaging the Immune Response in Melanoma

Traditional imaging – such as MRIs or CAT scans – provide insight into the effectiveness of immunotherapy by measuring tumor size. While this works, some patients may take months to respond to immunotherapy and in other cases, tumors may appear to actually grow on these scans, falsely indicating progression.

Bronze Bodies and Black Lungs: Five Ways the Tanning and Tobacco Industries Have the Same Playbook

Dr. Alan Blum has crusaded against the tobacco industry for 30 years and now, he's taking aim at the tanning industry. According to Blum, both the tobacco and tanning industries exploit people in similar ways, by targeting youth, downplaying their own corporate responsibility, infiltrating pop-culture, and indeed, by becoming prolific icons.