Talking Mountains and Molehills in Whistler
As part of our commitment to maintaining strong subject matter expertise in Oncology, a couple of members from the FUSE Health team had the privilege of attending the 9th Annual Canadian Melanoma Conference in Whistler, BC (February 19-22, 2015).
The conference kicked-off with a touching survivorship story by Kathy Barnard, President and Founder of the Save Your Skin Foundation. Kathy shared her personal journey through the fight against stage IV malignant melanoma, after being given six months to live following her life-changing diagnosis in 2003. Almost 12 years later, Kathy stood strong at the podium on Friday morning and for the first time since being cancer-free in 2007, she proudly declared herself a survivor of melanoma. Kathy also shared the moving stories of other melanoma survivors, to officially launch the Foundation’s new survivorship initiative, I’m Living Proof.
Save You Skin Foundation video on survivorship in melanoma.
Survivorship was a key theme at this year’s melanoma conference, as presentation after presentation continued to outline the improved survival benefits of newer therapies compared to previous standards of care. In this regard, discussion on immuno-oncology therapies dominated, as presenters recapped data from the different pivotal studies for the CTLA-4 (ipilumumab) and PD-1/PDL-1 (nivolumab, pembrolizumab) immune-mediated checkpoint inhibitors. With over 70% of previously untreated patients taking nivolumab or pembrolizumab remaining alive at 1-year, recent therapeutic advances reinforce the the concept of survivorship for patients with advanced melanoma and offer comfort and hope to those fighting the disease. Delegates were quick to comment that they eagerly await results of ongoing studies on combination therapy and maintenance therapy approaches with immuno-oncology agents, as these approaches may offer further benefits to their patients.