Posts Tagged ‘Melanoma Research Foundation’

Indiscriminate Melanoma

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

Stephen J Cannell passed away in early October at the age of 69, due to complications from Melanoma. The creator of “The Rockford Files” and “The A Team,” Cannell produced more than 40 TV series including “Baretta,” “21 Jump Street,” and “Wiseguy.” Certainly his loved ones will suffer the loss as much as any who lose a family member or friend. But when a high-profile personality falls victim to Melanoma it does help raise awareness and the point that this is not a disease that can easily be won even with access to the most expensive of doctors and treatments.

It is an equal opportunity assailant.

The good news is the money IS being well spent in research and seems to be starting to pay off. As I wrote about Bob Marley and other celebrities who have suffered and lost to Melanoma, vigilance is key, no matter your walk of life. Regular screenings at MoleSafe can SAVE LIVES via earlier diagnoses. In addition, as requested by the producer’s family, you may choose to honor someone with a donation to the American Cancer Society …or the Melanoma Research Foundation or the other organizations they list who are also doing excellent research towards finding better treatments and hopefully a cure:

If you know others doing great work, please share!

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Columbus Day brings Fundraising for Melanoma discoveries

Friday, October 1st, 2010

There is a lot of good team effort taking place throughout the year and throughout the country to raise money for Melanoma research. With the upcoming celebration of Columbus — one brave explorer — I wanted to take a moment to point out just some of the many support-worthy events that are taking place to help fund more discoveries by other brave explorers in science:

10/3/10: Miles for Melanoma: The Dermatology Interest Group at the University of Minnesota is running Twin Cities Marathon on October 3rd, 2010. You can also Like their Facebook Fan Page and learn more about TeamM4M.

10/7/10: Wings of Hope for Melanoma – Melanoma Research Foundation’s Annual Fundraising Gala
6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Includes samplings from NYC restaurants and spirit companies, music, silent and live auctions, and an elaborate sweepstakes.
Edison Ballroom
New York, New York

10/9/10: TeamM4M from ING runs the Hartford, CT Marathon.

And training continues for TeamM4M to run the:

  • Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver Marathon and Half Marathon on October 17th
  • Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC on October 31st

10/10/10: More efforts to support -

More can be found on the Special Events Calendar at Melanoma.org, as well as many other sites, such as the Melanoma Foundation of New England. And, many teams, including one with Shonda Schilling and the Shade Foundation, are signing up to run the 11/7/10 ING New York Marathon for fundraising.

Thanks to all those walking, running, and fundraising to help the good fight. With the recent promising news in drug research we may be seeing some impact from everyone’s collected effort. Let’s all keep up the good work and spread the news and the contributions!

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From Our Perspective: Maddie Pallamary, RN

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Every day, at our four MoleSafe locations, our melanographers see patients with personal stories of what brought them to our offices for their skin exams. Melanoma Updates wants to share the perspective of some of our clinic experts who are at the front lines of patient care, whether graciously guiding our new patients through the process or managing the concerns of those returning. Our first post is from Maddie Pallamary, RN, from our Millburn, NJ location.

Maddy Pallamary, RN, Melanographer - MoleSafe Millburn

Maddie Pallamary, RN, Melanographer - MoleSafe Millburn

Maddie has worked with us from the beginning, and often provides me with insights and recommendations for patient comforts and considerations that have further enhanced their MoleSafe experience.

Here’s her perspective:

I have seen a number of patients, as you can imagine, that have either had a personal melanoma scare or are very high risk and lots of atypical moles.

They tell me of the extreme fear, anxiety, dread and stress they feel every time they visit their dermatologist. This is because they know every time they see their Dermatologist they ALWAYS get cut and have moles excised, sometimes as many as 2 and 3 moles at a time. And to add to the insult, more often than not, the results come back negative/benign. Because of this, some patients don’t always keep their regular MD appointments, which is a bad thing and something potentially deadly could be missed.

After they have had the MoleSafe procedure and understand its benefits, they express to me their utter sense of relief and calm and peace of mind that it will no longer be the case of ‘when in doubt cut it out’ and they will be on the receiving end of no more unnecessary cuts and ugly scaring. Finally, there is an alternative way to manage these high risk patients and monitor their moles over time.

This is why people like me go into nursing: one of its biggest rewards, the sense of fulfillment and to be able to make a difference, to help people and enhance their quality of life.

Thanks, Maddie – and thanks to all our excellent staff who provide considerate and efficient care at all our MoleSafe locations.

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News for the New Year

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

It is with great pride and excitement that we announce that Charles C. Harris Skin and Cancer Unit at NYU’s world-renowned Langone Medical Center will become the first major hospital in the United States to partner with and adopt the MoleSafe methodology. With the increased success rate in detecting early skin cancers and melanomas that results from our high-resolution imaging, Dermoscopy techniques and mole mapping, we are confident this partnership is good news for many people in this new year and beyond.

Please review the NYU press release for more details. And, to schedule an MoleSafe screening appointment at NYU’s Langone Medical Center call 212 263-5254. For other locations, please visit the MoleSafe site.

We’re also thrilled that SunAware listed MoleSafe as #8 on their 2009 recap of the year’s "Top Ten Sun Protection Initiatives.” Clearly, the word about best practices in protection and prevention is getting out there.

To keep you apprised of other news from the front lines of fighting skin cancers, here is a list of resources for additional information:

American Society of Clinical Oncology, Melanoma

Cancer.Net

Clinical Trials

Langone Medical Center Clinical Trials

Medline Plus

Melanoma Patients’ Information Page MPIP

Melanoma International Research Foundation

Melanoma Molecular Map Project MMMP

National Cancer Institute (US) – Melanoma

www.cancer.gov

National Library of Medicine, Pub Med www.pubmed.gov

Northern California Melanoma Center www.NCMC.com

OncoLink www.oncolink.org

Skin Cancer Foundation www.SkinCancer.org

Blogs:

The Melanoma Blog www.themelanomablog.com

Melanoma Updates Blog

SunAware Blog.

On behalf of MoleSafe, I want to offer heartfelt good wishes to all for a happy, healthy new year…and new decade.

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