Next week is the annual Melanoma Focus conference.
It’s the second time that I have attended the conference since being diagnosed at stage four back in September 2021.
As experts in melanoma, Melanoma Focus serves the entire melanoma community, including medical professionals, patients, carers and the general public. They strive to shape a better future for melanoma patients.
The purpose of Melanoma Focus is to provide support and information for patients, carers and healthcare professionals while commissioning and funding innovative research. Under this banner, our activities are grouped in three main areas:
- Patient support and information
- Professional education, resources and research
- Public awareness of melanoma and advocacy.
The conference brings together people from across the UK with the stories that are full of grit, determination, fear and a hope. The hope that one day we will be able to make further strides to deal with this cancer that just keeps giving.
The treatment over the past 20 years with the development of immunotherapy drugs has massively changed the landscape that we live in. There is still so much to do – there is a huge gap in awareness and education about the damage that can be done to our skin
I will no doubt come away from the conference with renewed determination to really make a difference. A commitment to carry on my promise to raise awareness and educate others of the risks of spending too much time in the sun without taking any precautions.
