Tuesday, August 23, 2016

CTV News Toronto - #MelanomaThroughMyLens

Yesterday I buzzed down to the Big Smoke to visit with Pauline Chan, Health Reporter for CTV News Toronto.  I am grateful to report that she decided to cover the story of the Melanoma Through My Lens Reflection Project, launched last week by Save Your Skin Foundation.

We had a friendly visit in the gardens at Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario, to discuss the importance of sun safety and the perils of a diagnosis of melanoma, skin cancer.  

Specifically we talked about #MelanomaThroughMyLens and how it became; a collection of stories from six Canadians coast to coast, reflecting on their skin cancer experiences through photography.  

Please click on any image below to view the story on CTV News Toronto. Thank you CTV for sharing our story!  And thank you readers, for clicks and shares... xo

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=935322&playlistId=1.3039383&binId=1.815897&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1
http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=935322&playlistId=1.3039383&binId=1.815897&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1

That's Meaford Harbour... on CTV News!

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=935322&playlistId=1.3039383&binId=1.815897&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=935322&playlistId=1.3039383&binId=1.815897&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1

http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=935322&playlistId=1.3039383&binId=1.815897&playlistPageNum=1&binPageNum=1


www.saveyourskin.ca

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

MY take: #MelanomaThroughMyLens Reflection Project

Earlier today I posted the press release by Save Your Skin Foundation about the new #MelanomaThroughMyLens awareness campaign - the new e-book launched today!  Now I would like to share my insight into the project:

In the spring I was asked as part of a group to share my story through photographs, a unique way to document a cancer journey.  I was provided with a camera and some very helpful guidelines from a professional photographer, and I thought long and hard about how to best convey the messages I wanted to share through a relatively new (to me) medium; photography.

  

Save Your Skin Foundation Founder Kathy Barnard championed this campaign to kick-start a public conversation about advanced melanoma, the patient journey, and to raise awareness about the various gene mutations involved with it to empower Canadians to know more about the disease. 

“Every advanced melanoma patient lives their own journey in a very personal and profound way. The moment you get that diagnosis, it is life-altering for you and everyone in your circle,” said Kathy Barnard,  herself a 10-year survivor of the disease. “Patients and their families go through so much; it’s literally like a roller coaster ride. When I was first diagnosed I felt alone. This is why I created the Foundation in the first place. Through this campaign we want to raise awareness of the advanced melanoma journey and let other advanced melanoma patients know they are not alone.”

We were guided to take photographs over the course of three weeks, each week with a conference call to help us with artistic direction and photography tips.  

From the very first call I was inspired.  Thinking outside the box about how to portray my experience with melanoma skin cancer, I recalled mental images of my greatest physical and emotional limitations in the two years since my diagnosis.

Stairs.  Steps.  My leg.  Post-surgery.  Lymphedema.  Bed-rest.  Slow recovery.  Painful.  One day at a time.  One step at a time.  And there it was:  my theme.  I would photograph the steps along my journey.  

It all began with my basement stairs; for weeks after my surgery (superficial femoral lymphadenectomy, deep ilioinguinal lymphadenectomy) I was unable to go downstairs in my house to my own bedroom.  I thought about those stairs for weeks lying on my makeshift bed in the living room, unable to walk around.  I pouted and agonized and feared and fantasized about how my future would become... if I could ever even go downstairs again.  

Those photos didn't actually make the cut for the final e-book, but some of these other steps in my journey did... here are samples of my amateur photography.  (oh yes and Claire took some of the photos as well - kudos to two budding photographers in this house!) 

                                        
                                                    Diagnosis.




Oh and a quick note... these photos are NOT "photoshopped" - a few people have asked me LOL  ie. this one of the hallway at Sunnybrook is true, Claire actually managed to capture it on film with NO people walking in it.  It was good timing!  :-)
 



                                  Countless hospital stairs.... a maze.





It all felt like an uphill battle... even my porch steps into my house were nearly impossible some days.  I painfully remember Scott and my Mom practically carrying me into the house in May 2014. 




I also wanted to capture the light in my somewhat sun-drenched past, perhaps beach photos and bright skies.  But again they couldn't all make the cut... our favourites ended up being dawn at Meaford harbour and the others which are in the e-book with descriptions of my feelings when they were captured.  

There was also the feeling of fear that I wanted to portray... with the backdrop of sunlight... hard to explain but see if these help:




                                                     Fear. 




Our beloved Meaford Harbour stole the show with gorgeous photos at dawn... here are some of my faves: 





Sunrise... dawn. A new hope.  Community.  Family.  Support. One step at a time. 

If you haven't already, please do click on the e-book and take a look... all six sets of photos are moving and inspirational.  I was stunned by the final edit - I identify very much with the others in the e-book.  
Though I have not met all of them I feel we have a connection through our stories documented in similar ways, through photographs and vivid emotions.  The scars, the metaphors, the earthy imagery, and the red car!! 
Way to go Kathy, Danika, Sue, Mike, and Terry! 

http://www.saveyourskin.ca/

I am honoured to have been asked to share in this project, and I thank Save Your Skin Foundation for their continued dedication to helping others in their skin cancer journeys - and everything they do - they are a very busy bunch!  

Thanks also to Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., and the PR team who facilitated this project, it has been great to work with you.  Last but certainly not least, the fabulous Photographer.... I miss our weekly calls.  I appreciate your empathetic mentoring and your professional expertise, it was wonderful to work with you.  I appreciate your advice and I hope we will keep in touch.  

Thank you everyone, for your continued love and support; couldn't do this without you. 


Article and Photos © Natalie Richardson 

Please click and share and help spread the word, I appreciate it.  We all appreciate it.  xoxo

Oh yes.... 
PS:  
http://www.saveyourskin.ca/news/melanoma-through-my-lens-reflection-project/


Intrepid: dauntless, bold, courageous, gritty, gutsy, bodacious. 




#MelanomaThroughMyLens Reflection Project - Press Release

Canadians with advanced skin cancer share 
their disease journey in empowering photo series:  
Melanoma Through My Lens

Campaign aims to raise awareness about different forms of the life-threatening skin cancer and its impact on patients and their families


TORONTO – August 17, 2016 – In celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Save Your Skin Foundation, the organization, in collaboration with Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc., has launched a unique awareness campaign called Melanoma Through My Lens. The campaign centres around a compelling photo series, the Melanoma Through My Lens Reflection Project, which is entirely created by six Canadians from across the country, living with advanced melanoma, who creatively showcase their own personal journey with the disease – from diagnosis to today, through a unique photo e-book that is available online at www.saveyourskin.ca 


http://www.saveyourskin.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Save_Your_Skin_Ebook.pdf

The campaign aims to kick-start a public conversation about advanced melanoma, the patient journey and to raise awareness about the various gene mutations involved with it to empower Canadians to know more about the disease. A change in a gene is called a gene mutation, which can disrupt normal development or cause a medical condition.i  The disease can vary from person to person because of gene mutations that may be present in melanoma cells, and that are unique to each person.ii In fact, melanoma is one of the cancers with the highest frequency of genetic mutations.iii While the BRAF mutation is the most common mutation in advanced melanoma, other known mutations include NRAS and c-KIT.iv  


“Every advanced melanoma patient lives their own journey in a very personal and profound way. The moment you get that diagnosis, it is life-altering for you and everyone in your circle,” said Kathy Barnard, Founder and President of the Save Your Skin Foundation and herself a 10-year survivor of the disease. “Patients and their families go through so much; it’s literally like a roller coaster ride. When I was first diagnosed I felt alone. This is why I created the Foundation in the first place. Through this campaign we want to raise awareness of the advanced melanoma journey and let other advanced melanoma patients know they are not alone.” 


Know Yourself, Know Your Options


Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, accounting for an estimated eight per cent of cases of skin cancer in Canada but approximately 70 per cent of deaths from the disease in 2014.v  


If left untreated, melanoma can spread or metastasize to other parts of the body, such as the brain, bones, liver, and lungs and is known as metastatic melanoma.vi When it cannot be fully removed by surgery, it is called unresectable melanoma. Both metastatic and unresectable melanoma are forms of advanced melanoma.vii Until recently, advanced melanoma was a disease with limited treatment options and a poor prognosis.viii   


“Our knowledge of, and ability to treat, advanced melanoma has advanced significantly in the last few years, in large part because of our knowledge of different gene mutations that can cause the disease,” said Dr. Marcus Butler, Oncologist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. “Though the diagnosis is still devastating, these advances allow us to offer real hope to patients when they embark on this difficult journey. It is important for Canadians to know the disease they are dealing with, know their genetic make-up and know their options, which is where campaigns such as this play a key role.” 


Melanoma accounts for about three per cent of all new cancer cases, placing it among the top 10 cancers diagnosed in Canada.ix An estimated 6,800 Canadians were diagnosed with melanoma last year.x It is also estimated that in 2015, 1,150 Canadians died from their melanoma.xi   


For more information about melanoma and the different gene mutations that can play a role in the disease, visit www.melanomajustgotpersonal.ca and www.saveyourskin.ca

  

http://www.melanomajustgotpersonal.ca/About-Melanoma/#Canadian-Facts-and-Figures



 
About the Save Your Skin Foundation

The Save Your Skin Foundation is a national not-for-profit organization dedicated to the areas of skin cancer and skin disease with a focus on education and awareness, supporting research and ensuring equal and timely access to treatment for all Canadians. Please visit www.saveyourskin.ca for more information.
 

SYSF Media Relations: 

Karran Finlay  

Save Your Skin Foundation

T: 778-988-8194 

karran@saveyourskin.ca   



References      
          
i Canadian Cancer Society. Genes and cancer. Available at: http://www.cancer.ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-101/what-iscancer/genes-and-cancer/?region=sk.
ii American Cancer Society, Melanoma Skin Cancer 2015, pg. 10, A.

iii Watson IR et a, Emerging patterns of somatic mutations in cancer, Nat Rev Genet. 2013 October; 14(10): 703–718, Author manuscript pg. 6, A.

iv National Cancer Institute, Melanoma Treatment for Health Professionals, 2015, pg. 1-2.

v Canadian Cancer Society’s Advisory Committee on Cancer Statistics. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014, Chapter 7, Special Topic: Skin Cancers, pp. 77, Toronto: Canadian Cancer Society; 2014.

vi ACS Melanoma Skin Cancer 2015, pg. 26 B and 1, A. 

vii ACS Melanoma Skin Cancer 2015, pg. 42, A; NCCN Guidelines for Patients_Melanoma_V1_2014_pg1-108, pg. 76, A.

viii Kushnir I_The evolution in melanoma treatment as a reflection of precision-oriented medicine_ Pg1-5_2013, pg. 2, A.

ix Canadian Cancer Society’s Advisory Committee on Cancer Statistics. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2014, Chapter 7, Special Topic: Skin Cancers, p. 78, Toronto: Canadian Cancer Society; 2014. 

x Canadian Cancer Society’s Advisory Committee on Cancer Statistics. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2015, p. 25 and 47, Toronto: Canadian Cancer Society; 2015.

xi Ibid.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Column - Meaford Express - Simcoe.com August 2016

July disappeared in a flash around here... August provides me with a new opportunity to write write write... beginning with the Meaford Express column.

Please click here to read my thoughts about this summer's exorbitant heat and sun.  Thank you for clicks and shares!

http://www.simcoe.com/opinion-story/6801757-the-summer-of-sun-in-meaford/