Category: Melanoma Stories
When Are Melanoma Patients Finished with Immunotherapy?
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 23 January 2019 In Melanoma Stories, Science, Treatment
For melanoma patients, deciding when to discontinue treatment is a difficult decision. should the general ‘rule of thumb’ of treating patients with advanced disease until progression still apply? According to Dr. Jeffrey Weber and the data he presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress late last year, the answer is maybe not.
From Health Scare to Transformative Change
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 16 January 2019 In Melanoma Stories
Debra Black founded the Melanoma Research Alliance in 2007 after her own diagnosis with Stage II disease earlier that year. Since then, MRA has become the largest, non-profit funder of melanoma research worldwide.
For Kimberly, Clinical Trials Were a Leap of Faith
1 October 2018 In Melanoma Stories
Kimberly was just 19-years-old when she noticed the black “freckle” on her foot. But it wasn’t until she was 22-years-old and pregnant with her first child that her “freckle” became a cause for concern.
Ipilimumab Cured Dan Engel He’s Committed to Paying it Forward
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 24 September 2018 In Melanoma Stories
Dan needed a miracle. At this point, he’d had six surgeries on his neck, endured radiation therapy, and been enrolled in five clinical trials. Dan’s miracle came in 2006 in the form of an experimental drug, ipilimumab or anti-CTLA4 antibody, that would later be named Yervoy. This drug would later become the first new FDA-approved melanoma treatment in 13 years.
Right Place, Right Time, Right Trial
10 September 2018 In Melanoma Stories, Treatment
Jonathan is cancer free because he was in the right place at the right time to be enrolled in a clinical trial. Read his story.
Wiser & Stronger – Life after Metastatic Melanoma
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 20 July 2018 In Melanoma Stories, Treatment
For Derrick, it all started with headaches. For the first time in his life, this otherwise perfectly healthy father of two, knew something was wrong.
Uveal ‘Clusters’ in Auburn, AL and Huntersville, NC
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 18 July 2018 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, News, Science, Treatment
When we talk about melanoma, it’s easy to forget that cutaneous – the most common variety that forms on the skin – isn’t the only game in town. Uveal represents about 5% of all melanomas diagnosed each year. So, when dozens of people from two towns in North Carolina and Alabama were diagnosed with the rare cancer alarm bells sounded.
Self-Care is Non-Negotiable: “How Early Detection Saved My Life”
15 July 2018 In Melanoma Stories, Prevention
Jackie Labrecque’s life changed with a single phone call when her dermatologist called to tell her that the mole that she tried to ignore for months was melanoma.
In Loving Memory of Rusty Cline
4 June 2018 In Melanoma Stories
Late last month we received word that Rusty Cline, an inspiring advocate and part of the MRA family, succumbed to melanoma after his diagnosis in 2006.
Melanoma Leaves a Mark – but Not Always the One You Think
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 27 April 2018 In Melanoma Stories
Melanoma is no stranger to University of Delaware Senior Samantha Stinchcomb. In fact, this silent killer has been part of her life for the last 11 years – over half her life. She learned the hard way, at the sobering age of 13, that melanoma ‘isn’t just skin cancer’ when her father lost his three year battle with the disease. Since then, Samantha has been diligent about her own skin – and has had 16 precancerous moles removed. “It took my father, my best friend, from this earth and my life. In the almost 8 years since my dad’s been gone,” said Samantha. “I’ve also learned melanoma doesn’t plan on getting out of my life anytime soon.”