News
One Family, One Community, One Goal: Cure Melanoma
By Renee Orcione, MRA Digital Engagement & Communications Manager | 27 October 2021 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories
Melanoma is personal for Kathy Mason, and positivity is a way of life since her son Ryan’s Stage 3 melanoma diagnosis at only 24-years old.
Promising Uveal Melanoma Research Advances
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 26 October 2021 In News, Science, Treatment
Uveal melanoma, often called ocular melanoma or just eye melanoma, is a rare melanoma subtype that affects about 2,500 people each year in the United States. As is true with other rare subtypes, we know far less about what causes uveal melanoma, how it progresses, and how it can be...
Paving a Path for Cancer Vaccines
22 October 2021 In News, Science
Although vaccines to prevent COVID-19 have dominated conversations and the news cycle since the start of the pandemic — Dr. Nina Bhardwaj and her team have been busy at work with a different type of vaccine altogether: one to support melanoma treatment and reduce risk of recurrence.
Challenge Accepted: MRA 2020 - 2021 Annual Report
19 October 2021 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories, News, Policy, Prevention, Science, Treatment
This was a year like no other. COVID-19 presented new challenges that required new ways of thinking. At MRA, confronting challenges is part of our DNA. We never stop challenging ourselves, no matter the odds or obstacles, in pursuit of conquering melanoma and saving lives.
Melanoma Isn't Just Another Skin Cancer
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 5 October 2021 In Allies & Partnerships, Melanoma Stories
Too many people think that melanoma is just another skin cancer – and in 2005, Daisy Helman was one of them. She had just learned that a lump her father noticed on his arm was actually melanoma. “I just assumed that this wasn’t a big deal. Just cut it out – dad will be fine. Looking back, I was so wrong.”
Antibiotics & Treatment-Resistant Melanoma: A Stressful Subject
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 23 September 2021 In Science
Eleonora Leucci, PhD, an MRA-funded investigator at KU Leuven (Belgium) has determined that some antibiotics may be able to slow, or even reverse, treatment resistance that melanoma develops to targeted therapies. If her preliminary findings are verified in the clinic, this would be a potent weapon in the melanoma treatment arsenal and a huge win for patients.
Asking the Tough Questions: Perspectives on Being a Caregiver, Self Care, & Mucosal Melanoma
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 18 September 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. We’re the ones who call the doctors, ask the tough questions, and when needed, we push the envelope.”
The Next Frontier of Combination Immunotherapy: Maximizing the Benefits & Reducing Harms
15 September 2021 In Science, Treatment
Every general knows that the best way to successfully win a war is to deploy multiple weapons with different targets. This strategy was first used in cancer to conquer childhood leukemias with combination chemotherapy and now is being put to the test in melanoma by combining multiple checkpoint inhibitors, as...
Mark, Stage 4 Melanoma, & a Personalized Vaccine Clinical Trial
By Cody Barnett, MPH, MRA Senior Director of Communications & Patient Engagement | 6 September 2021 In Melanoma Stories
The melanoma treatment landscape had dramatically changed in the time since Mark was first diagnosed with melanoma. New options had earned FDA approval and many other approaches were actively being tested in clinical trials. Hear Mark's story with a personalized vaccine made to help train his immune system to fight melanoma cells.
Practical Recommendations for Surviving and Thriving Despite Melanoma
4 August 2021 In Treatment
Most experts, including the National Cancer Institute, say that a person becomes a survivor from the moment they learn of their cancer diagnosis – for the rest of their life. Get practical tips and strategies to live well with melanoma based on an expert panel conversation, led by Dr. Sapna Patel of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.