Category: Melanoma Stories
Connecting the Dots – Clinical Trials and Patient Engagement
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 15 November 2017 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, News
MRA is thrilled to announce the launch of the Melanoma > Exchange, a melanoma treatment and research focused discussion group and support community. Through the Melanoma > Exchange, anyone touched by Melanoma can find support, ask questions, and build community among people who share a similar experience.
“Hands down, I’m alive today because of clinical trials”
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 15 November 2017 In Melanoma Stories, Science
Jamie Goldfarb didn’t think of herself as having cancer. Yes, she had been diagnosed with Stage II melanoma four years earlier and Stage III the following year, but the surgeries to remove it had been successful. The PET scans that followed had been normal. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. Jamie was now a tired new mom with an eleven-week old baby and she was ready to get back to work. But, her world would turn upside down when she learned that not only was melanoma back, but it had progressed to Stage IV and spread to her liver and pancreas.
“Seeing his Family Grow-Up Thanks to the Promise of Clinical Trials”
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 10 October 2017 In Melanoma Stories
In August 2012, T.J. Sharpe walked into the emergency room with a fever. He’d been ill for a couple of days and didn’t want to get his four-week old son sick if he could avoid it. Sixteen days later, he left a full 30 pounds lighter and with a stage IV melanoma diagnosis.
A Mother’s Perspective: New Options for Pediatric Melanoma
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 6 September 2017 In Melanoma Stories, News, Treatment
When Cheryl Trocke’s nine-year old son Graham was diagnosed with melanoma four years ago, she quickly learned that when it comes to kids, there were no great treatment options and that care can vary greatly based on where your child is treated. After surgically removing the primary tumor, Graham’s doctors suggested a treatment plan of ‘wait and see.’
Doubling Down: Brandon Barniea Bets Big on Combination Therapy
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 6 September 2017 In Melanoma Stories, Treatment
Brandon Barniea didn’t believe he needed to visit doctors. The athletic 35-year-old had always been healthy – even when his wife and two kids were sick at home with the flu, he would miraculously avoid falling ill. So, when he found what felt like “beads” in his neck, reality came crashing in; following a biopsy, he was diagnosed first with stage III melanoma in August 2015 and later that year it progressed to stage IV.
Invincible, Until You’re Not
By Pamela Goldsmith, MRA Director of Communications | 6 June 2017 In Melanoma Stories, Prevention, Treatment
Self described, lifetime sun worshiper and tanning bed devotee, 24-year old native Texan Ali Young was barely daunted the first time she was diagnosed with deadly skin cancer at the age of 18. Matter of fact, she recalls heading to the tanning bed the very day after her biopsy.
Tara's Story
By Pamela Goldsmith, MRA Director of Communications | 20 January 2017 In Melanoma Stories
Tara Miller was a strong-willed survivor, who lost her battle to melanoma in 2014, inspiring many including her family to create the Tara Miller Melanoma Foundation.
Trena's Story: An African-American Retiree's Journey with Melanoma
8 June 2016 In Melanoma Stories
“Trena, you have melanoma and you are going to lose your toe. “ WHAT?!?! I am a Black woman in her sixties—that is crazy!!
Patricia isn’t Afraid to Ask the Tough Questions & Her Husband May be Alive Today Because of It
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 1 August 2021 In Melanoma Stories
“Being a caregiver can be the hardest job,” says Patricia Janiak. “Your loved one might be the one going through this – but we’re the ones who have to put on our brave face while always being a step ahead.