Work, lately...

I don’t usually mix my personal blog and my professional life - and I don’t often write about work here. But as we move into a new year, and as Allan Events Co. continues to grow, it feels like the right moment to connect a few dots.

I’ve been working with many new colleagues in Prince George over the past couple of years, and I’m realizing that not everyone knows why I do the work I do, or where it really comes from. My LinkedIn bio hints at it, and this blog has inadvertently documented the last 11+ years of my life, but this feels like a good place to pause, reflect, and explain things once - clearly.

Where this all started (and continues)

In 2014, my life changed in ways I never expected. A diagnosis of metastatic melanoma (AND then thyroid cancer) reshaped my priorities, my pace, and my understanding of what meaningful work actually looks like.

Those years were hard, frightening, and deeply clarifying. And while I am currently grateful to be living with no evidence of disease, I remain “on surveillance” at BC Cancer, with annual CT scans, regular follow-ups, and the quiet knowledge that cancer is not something I can ever fully put behind me. It is part of my life, and it continues to inform how I move through the world and my work.

Living with serious illness has a way of stripping things down to what matters most. For me, that meant focusing my energy on work that feels purposeful, connected to people, and genuinely useful - work I can feel proud of at the end of the day.

That clarity eventually became Allan Events Co.

My professional path before and alongside this chapter has included roles in sales, technology, finance, and leadership with organizations such as OpenText, BlackBerry, Scotiabank, Loblaw, and Community Futures. Since my diagnosis, I have also been deeply involved in oncology patient advocacy, leading national education and awareness initiatives with Save Your Skin Foundation and Ocumel Canada. Strategy, communication, education, and compassion have become inseparable for me, both personally and professionally

This work is also personal in another way. Mike and I met through patient advocacy, connected by a shared experience with metastatic melanoma and life-saving immunotherapy clinical trials. It’s an unusual thing to have in common, but it shapes how we move through the world and the work we choose to take on. We know - very clearly - that every day matters.

What we do at Allan Events Co.

Allan Events Co. focuses on business events and medical education, delivered with care, precision, and a deep respect for the people involved.

We coordinate events in all formats - conferences, trade shows, training sessions, roundtables, CME-accredited symposiums, and community gatherings. Much of our work happens behind the scenes: venue sourcing, budgeting, timelines, sponsorship, catering and A/V coordination, speaker and exhibitor management, and all the small details that make an event run smoothly.

Our role is to bring all the moving pieces together, keep everything on track, anticipate challenges, and create space for our clients to focus on what matters most to them. We aim to deliver events that feel thoughtful, seamless, and impactful. And we genuinely have fun in the process!

Recent work & gratitude

Over the past year, we’ve had the privilege of supporting several projects in Prince George and beyond, including work with the Prince George Chamber of Commerce on initiatives such as the Business Excellence Awards and Voices for Change Safe Streets Rally. These events take many hands, minds, and partners to bring to life, and we love collaborating with venues, suppliers, technicians, and community organizations to transform spaces into exactly what our clients need.

One of the most meaningful projects of late 2025 was supporting Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation on their 32nd annual Festival of Trees at the CN Centre. Spirit of the North is a driving force in advancing healthcare across northern British Columbia - funding equipment, innovation, and care that directly impacts patients and families in our region. As someone who continues to live with the long-term realities of cancer, being invited to support Festival of Trees was both an honour and a deeply personal full-circle moment.

Looking ahead

As we move into 2026, I’m looking forward to continuing work that sits at the intersection of community, education, and patient advocacy.

Alongside ongoing projects through Allan Events Co., I’ll be spending time this year supporting national oncology education and awareness initiatives - including continued collaboration with Save Your Skin Foundation, consulting work in the cancer education space, and participating in conversations that help bring patient perspectives into broader healthcare discussions. There are also a few upcoming speaking, writing, media, and podcast projects in the works that I’m excited to share when the time is right.

These efforts are deeply connected to the local work I do in Prince George. Whether coordinating events, supporting healthcare foundations, or contributing to national education initiatives, the goal is the same: to create spaces - in person and online - where learning, connection, and advocacy can meaningfully happen.

If you’re here because you know me personally, professionally, or somewhere in between - thank you. This post exists to offer a bit of context, so there’s a shared understanding as I continue focusing on the work that matters.

 

(...and if you want to know more, feel free to peruse the blog tags in the right sidebar, see some highlight photos below, or view my portfolio, here) 

Lymphedema Education Day - Nov-2024

Accredited Medical Education Conference

Prince George Chamber of Commerce 2025 Business Excellence Awards

 

...including time spent with The Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould

So very grateful for all of the wonderful people, businesses, organizations, and concepts that we get to work with! 

And lots more to look forward to 😊

  

Melanoma Blog(s) Updates - a Quick Check-in

Every year around this time I get a bit twitchy about my upcoming cancer-versary, it's soon annual CT scan time, and so I need to stop and smell the roses. Many amazing things have happened in my life in the last year, it's really been non-stop around here - all good stuff! And never a dull moment. Mike and I travelled around BC a bunch, including a raucous Camaro trip to the Kooteneys, and a stunning camping trip to Bella Coola. 

Also news: Claire and Cass moved here to Prince George (haha right - I never thought I'd say those words!) and are settling in beautifully. I of course am thrilled that we are back to living close to eachother!!! They are loving PG and immersing themselves in their new city.  We're slowly but surely getting their Toronto-blood-pressures down, and the imminent spring weather is going to greatly help that when we can get back out there for camping, exploring, and adventuring. 

In the meantime... work. Mike and I both have been burning the candle at both ends the past couple of seasons. Mike worked BC Elections as he loves to do, and then took on a side gig here in town to help him pass the winter (aka non-Camaro) season. I've still been working with Community Futures but also was part of a Scientific Planning Committee (my first one!) to bring a two-day accredited for Physicians hybrid conference to Prince George for Lymphedema Education. It was a large undertaking and I am honoured to have been able to support this event with my conference planning skills. Not long after that, I was part of the team who brought the B2B Expo to the Prince George business community - another large project I am proud to have been part of. These recent refreshers have reminded me how much I love to plan and facilitate corporate events, and how my professional efforts need to swing more in that direction. 

Sprinkled in between all of that was also a little bit of time with Save Your Skin Foundation! In February, SYSF invited me to host their Fireside Chat and speak on the topic of "Connecting to Your New Normal." It did stretch my cancer patient muscles a bit - I dusted off some decade-old feelings about this disease and shared my story and perspectives on life after cancer, hopefully giving even just one person a glimmer of hope in their skin cancer journey. 

SYSF has now posted the recording of my talk, and a short blog re-capping my melanoma and Save Your Skin story. You can check these out here and here: 

SYSF February 2025 Fireside Chat: "Connecting to Your New Normal" 

with host Natalie Allan, Cancer Survivor & Motivational Speaker

Thank you Kathy and Save Your Skin Foundation, for being there for me, and for Mike, our families, and all of the patients and caregivers your life-saving work supports in the cancer community. 🙌

I'm grateful to have some re-connects with my melanoma friends and family, and these opportunities help me to pause and reflect, and celebrate almost 11 years since I was first diagnosed, and I am HERE. 🙏 xoxoxo

🧡

One more quick note before I dash off to the next thing - just this very morning I received an email from Feedspot notifying me that my blog was again on the Top Melanoma Blogs list! Surprising as I haven't posted as much since last receiving this honour in 2017, but a very welcome nod and neat timing as I was just preparing to post about the SYSF event. Thank you @Feedspot - I appreciate #29 and will happily share your new badge. Great to see so many of my old friends and melahomies on this list as well! 🥰

A Year to Review

As I prepare to spend the next year writing a book and pursuing a career as a freelancer and advocate in the oncology space, I have been reviewing the multitude of resources collected in my cancer travels over the last nine-plus years. I am inspired to share the knowledge I have gained through my work, but also to re-visit it with the additional perspective I have developed since first being diagnosed with advanced cancer. 

Some resources I'll mention in the coming months you will have heard me touch on before, some might be familiar only to those who follow Save Your Skin Foundation (where I wrote about them but didn't share on my personal blog), and others will be completely new to all of us. I will be expanding on my experiences with these items, and in some cases, I expect my extended thoughts on the topic will reveal some new context. 

January is as great a time as any to kick off a new plan - I'll start with a plug for those who enjoy setting new years resolutions. An easy one for the year is to perform a monthly skin self-exam to stay on top of any changing skin spots, moles, or conditions. Our skin is our body's largest organ, and we need to check it to protect it. Set a reminder in your calendar, google, or Alexa, and/or align your skin check with the full moon every month - easy peasy!  (Just saying... if I hadn't neglected my weird mole all those years ago, I wouldn't now be sitting here talking about metastatic cancer.)

Click here to learn how to do a skin check

Also in January, it is Children Impacted by a Parent’s Cancer Month (CIBAPC), in the United States.

I have set a plan for my blogging to align with a calendar of cancer awareness days for 2024. As you know, through my work I have inadvertently become an "unofficial expert" on melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, as well as ocular (or uveal) melanoma. Also having had a simultaneous diagnosis of thyroid cancer, and becoming extensively familiar with the treatments for all of these, as well as related conditions and topics such as lymphedema, gene testing, and treatment side effects, I will share news and insights on each of the ones I feel equipped to speak about.

You may have already noticed I added an image with a link in my blog sidebar to the right showing the I Had Cancer calendar for 2024. This calendar is the most comprehensive of its kind, that I've seen. I Had Cancer is an online patient support community I have been a part of for many years, wrote a blog for them once upon a time too. I'm inspired to share their excellent resources and to be able to do so on a wider array of cancer indications and related topics. 

My journey with melanoma skin cancer has many similarities to that of folks with other cancers, so I will speak to that throughout the year. 

Also, I realize that you know people other than myself who have cancer - it isn't all about me.... so you may find some interesting information and additional cancer resources such as awareness months/days and ribbon colours, and support resources for a wider community.

This calendar is free to download so if you'd like a copy you can click here to get it. I'll keep it in the sidebar this year and refer to it in upcoming posts, but also please feel free to get it and share with your family and friends. 

Why do I feel cancer or health-related awareness activities are important? For the same reason I still write about my journey almost ten years after it began: to be part of a community of support. When I was first diagnosed, I felt very isolated, filled with fear, and like no one understood what I was going through. When I started to research melanoma and found people who had survived it, I felt hopeful. They helped me, and now I can help others.

Everyone everywhere who is diagnosed with any life-changing disease or condition goes through a unique and often terrible range of emotions as they learn about their condition, their "new normal" - or wonder if there will ever be anything "normal" again. Cancer, diabetes, MS, heart disease, lung disease, Crohn's, lupus, hepatitis - too many to list. We all have something. And, pack animals that we are, we often find comfort in engaging with others who are in the same community. It is part of coping, learning, sharing, and giving back.  

Another great resource for patients and caregivers includes the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Guidelines on melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, and many other indications, as well as supportive topics such as immunotherapy or treatment side effects, mental wellness, and survivorship.

I wish I had had NCCN® guides for melanoma and thyroid cancers back in 2014-2015, though these have been newly developed in recent years. Through my work at SYSF I got to research and endorse many of these guides, and provide patient quotes from our community, and somehow my little face is even on the cover of the 2021 melanoma guide. That is how much I love these guides and recommend them to patients and caregivers. 

(Clicking this image will take you to the most current 

Melanoma Patient Guide from NCCN, updated in 2023)

Though these guidelines are developed with best practices in use in the United States, the resources do apply to patients and clinicians in Canada (where treatment options and access apply), as I have personally confirmed with members of the SYSF Medical Advisory Board. Canadian doctors do refer to the NCCN® clinical guidelines, and they do support the distribution of NCCN® patient guidelines to Canadian patients.

Plus - the other day when I was researching NCCN® updates I found they have published a new guide on thyroid cancer in late 2022! This is exciting, as I have never really understood the details of my thyroid cancer diagnosis. I knew I had papillary thyroid cancer, and that they were happy the tumour wasn't melanoma, so I had a complete thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine treatment. That's kind of it. Until now - I just finished reading this and I'm clearer now on more of my details. Check it out: Thyroid Cancer

Also please feel free to see other NCCN® guides related to this community, including the Survivorship books, which contain quotes from yours truly: 

NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Melanoma

NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Squamous Cell Skin Cancer

NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Basal Cell Skin Cancer

NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Immunotherapy Side Effects series:  

Immunotherapy Side Effects: CAR T-Cell Therapy and Immunotherapy Side Effects: Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Survivorship Care for Healthy Living and Survivorship Care for Cancer-Related Late and Long-Term Effects 

NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Distress During Cancer Care

NCCN Guidelines for Patients®: Adolescents and Young Adults with Cancer

The Patient books are easy to read, well-illustrated, and are all available for free to view and print at NCCN.org/patients or via the NCCN® Patient Guides for Cancer App: Virtual Library of NCCN Guidelines® App – Available for iPhone/iPad and Android Smartphone/Tablet.  Keep an eye out for new guides all the time, they are ever-expanding. 

So there, that is my plan for the year - laid out in January - how organized! I'm also set for a couple of my own appointments in the coming months, including my annual CT scan in March. I'm also happy to be co-supporting, with a lovely group of inspired volunteers, an accredited 'Lymphedema Education Day' to take place later this year for Physicians and allied health care professionals in the Northern Health region. Stay tuned!

Meeting Local Celebrities

Among my BC-travel highlights are the times I have had the privilege of meeting people who I think are pretty neat. Of course family and friends rank at the very top of my neat-people list! But there are some additional folks that have touched my life that I'd love to mention here, in the name of blog-updating and British-Columbia-life-sharing.  

For years I have been honoured to meet, travel, and work with many of our absolute stars in melanoma skin cancer treatment in Canada, namely from Toronto, Edmonton, Victoria, and Vancouver. Last year I even got to pop down to the Okanagan to have a SYSF dinner with a number of our treating Dermatologists, Oncologists and Surgeons in the area. As always, it was humbling and inspiring at the same time: learning on behalf of skin cancer patients, and speaking on behalf of skin cancer patients. 

In addition to these meaningful exchanges, I have had the fun of meeting up with local celebrities that are on TV. And yes, I do count medical-educational webinars and recorded zoom meetings that are online as valuable viewing material! 

But in this case I'm referring to celebrities on Netflix, History channel, CTV, Prime, Discovery, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc etc etc - you get the idea. Sheer fun!

Let's start with Mike Hall from Rust Bros, in the Shuswap area. I've watched every episode of his show, laughing out loud at all the casts' antics, and learning a lot about cool car restorations at the invitation of my boyfriend Mike. Mike first got to meet Mike on a boys' trip a couple years ago, when he stumbled upon the Rust Valley Restorers shop/property/set and decided to pop in. As (my) Mike always says, just try... "nothing bad is going to happen" - they drove in, and were respectfully checking out the place when the boss came out and hung out to look at their cars and chat.

So when we were with family in the area last summer and went out on some exploring, Mike said hey let's stop in - maybe you can meet Mike too! And so we did. He was so gracious, obviously busy but still stopped to chat with us and take a photo. So cool, very fun!

A second local celebrity honourable mention goes here, to Avery from Rust Bros, and Wildman Restorations. Little did we know, when we were in the Shuswap we drove right by Avery's place several times - and we didn't know it until this past season when we watched on TV and saw the road! Didn't get to meet Avery, but if you watch the show you'd know he goes with Mike Hall, two peas in a pod if you ask me. 😂

Click photo for creds

Shifting gears... ha ha ha...

As I've mentioned before, since I've moved here I've learned a lot about gold mining, minerals, the environment, and the terrain in northern BC. Mike and I dabble in gold panning and have plans for more next season. But in the winters when we can't be out on the land, we occasionally watch TV. And guess what's on there - Gold Rush! Yes, I am completely hooked. But alongside Gold Rush are the likes of The Curse of Oak Island and Jade Fever. Ok no we haven't met the Lagina brothers or Parker Schnabel (though last season he did visit Barkerville!), BUT - Jade Fever! - Claudia Bunce! 

In my last post I talked about our visit to Jade City on the Yukon loop. The one thing I didn't mention is that Claudia was actually there, at the Jade City store when we stopped in. I didn't think she would be there, as it was the start of summer, and one would suspect they have to make the most of their time on the land up north in the short summer season. But lucky us - she was at home! I wasn't cool calm collected enough to ask her for a photo, so you'll have to see her in this one (and at the links below).

Click photo for creds

Just hangin' out all cool and prosperous in her jade store, as welcoming as if we had been invited to Thanksgiving dinner. Instantly we sensed her intelligence and business acumen, she was open and totally friendly, and absolutely not shy about her jade mining family history, business success, and current work as well as future plan speculation. 

She chatted with Mike while I (gaped and) shopped (quickly) - Claudia even said to Mike "Wow you are a Champ for letting her stop here to shop even with your hurt arm!"  A Champ! Well yes of course Mike is a Champ, but now it gets a capital C because Claudia said it too. She also referred to another shop she is/was working on, closer to us, but you'll have to wait to hear more about that one in a future post.  Claudia and her family happen to be from Prince George, so that bought me time to shop while Mike chatted. We have actually seen her at Costco since then too but without picture proof I feel like I can't say that 😅

https://jadecity.com/

https://www.ctv.ca/shows/jade-fever

And I will close with a couple more honourable mentions for Jade Fever.  On the day of the 2021 Father's Day Show n Shine fancy car tour here in PG, we saw Claudia's nephew Shane, to the very right in the crew photo above. I saw him and (so elegantly) exclaimed (from the window of Mike's Camaro) Oh wow it's Shane from Jade Fever!! and he smiled and waved. Yep, totally cool. 

Also Scrappy Larry, in the middle of the Jade Fever crew photo above. Scrappy Larry is a side-story in the Jade Fever show, and a captivating one at that! We love Scrappy Larry, have spotted him in PG as well, and we are thrilled that he now has his own website even. 

He is funny, sweet, genuine, and he loves cookies. We had brought a freshly baked care package of cookies for Scrappy Larry when we were planning to visit Cassiar and find him on our Yukon trip, but when we had to cancel that part of our trip we missed the chance to deliver to him. In any case, we'll keep trying!

So that's it for my BC celebrity update at the moment, but stay tuned... hangin' out with Mr. Nothing-Bad-is-Gonna-Happen you never know what  - or WHO - we might encounter next! 

Ryan Reynolds is from Vancouver after all..... 

😈

Apologies for the random blog email!

Hi - if the other day you received a weird email containing one of my old blog posts from 2016 I just want to say sorry about that!  You weren't hacked, I wasn't hacked, my health is okay (that was an old post from the glory days - ugh) and all is well.  

I did spend some time that day updating my desperately outdated blog, but I didn't get a chance to post anything new other than the content down the right hand side.  That activity must have generated a system email from Blogger - or maybe it was my writer's conscience giving me a subliminal message to get busy writing on here again! 

I will do, as there is much to update on, though (thankfully) the updates have less to do with my melanoma and thyroid cancers than they do with life in general.  Hard to summarize the last two+ years in one blog post so I'll just start with this:

The girls and I have done a deep dive into new chapters in our lives - they are settled in the throes of college education in the big city, and I am still hard at work with Save Your Skin Foundation. More on all of this in the near future but for now this is just a quick hello to let you know everything is okay with us and I'm hoping Blogger won't send any more random messages to my loved ones.  

Thank you to everyone who contacted me about the email, I appreciate your caring, as always. xoxo

More updates coming soon. 

Stay safe during this crazy time 💝

When things come full circle: OneWalk, Toronto

I'm having one of those days where everything seems ironic. In a good way.  This afternoon I am being interviewed for an article in the National Post, for a project that I have been working on behalf of Save Your Skin Foundation since last year.  We are working with the folks at Post Media to do a Spotlight on Immuno-oncology in the Patient Diaries series. 

Save Your Skin advocates for cancer patient access to life-saving immunotherapy treatments, and is helping to bring patients and the media together to shed light on this subject.  Patient Diaries is spotlighting some patient stories for the feature to run this Fall, so I shouldn't have been surprised when I got the call the other day asking if I would be willing to share my story for it.  Guess I kinda forgot I still am a melanoma patient (who received immunotherapy) - have been so busy living and working it didn't occur to me that they would want my story in there. LOL It will be neat to see this Spotlight come together from both sides, as a project manager from the inside, and as a patient interview on the outside.  Stay tuned for more info!

Another full-circle event is upcoming for me too - the OneWalk in downtown Toronto September 8, 2018.  Two years ago my dear friend Rhonda walked in my honour the fund raiser for melanoma research at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, when there was no way I could have walked that distance.  Just finishing my treatments at the time, I was struggling with side effects and a difficult emotional cancer battle, and I was incredibly moved that she did that for me.  

That's Rhonda :-) -->

Now I am feeling much better, and I have been invited to walk 15km downtown Toronto with a team that has been part of my life for several years. You may remember me talking about La Roche-Posay, the sunscreen and skin care brand who created the "Become A Skin Checker" campaign and invited me to share my story at their Toronto awareness events. 

This year La Roche-Posay graciously accepted my request to become an official sponsor of Save Your Skin Foundation, and they donated a whole bunch of their excellent sunscreen to us for distribution at our events.  We are building further on the relationship by my joining their OneWalk team this year, to raise money for melanoma research at Princess Margaret (at which Save Your Skin closely works with melanoma oncologists on a regular basis).  

In September La Roche-Posay Canada and I will join forces again, this time to raise $15,000 for melanoma research.  A very exciting prospect!!  Being as I have the honour of working directly with lead melanoma researchers at Princess Margaret, I can assure you personally that the funds go directly where they are supposed to go.  I fully support this endeavour, and I hope you will too.  

To donate to our team, please click here: 

OneWalk.ca/goto/Natalie_Richardson

Thank you! 

More about La Roche-Posay at OneWalk Toronto 2018:

La Roche-Posay is a skincare brand committed to preventing and fighting skin cancer. Recent studies indicate that of cancers diagnosed worldwide are a form of skin cancer, which is why our mission to provide a better life for sensitive skin is more than ever. Developed in collaborating with dermatologists and toxicologists, our products contain only the necessary ingredients, at the right active dose.

To further contribute to the cause, we introduced an annual public service campaign in 2017 with the mission to inform the public about the dangers of sun exposure and the importance of protecting your skin from UV rays. This year, we are taking our commitment one-step further. La Roche-Posay is proud to be an official partner for this year’s OneWalk to Conquer Cancer™, one of Canada’s life-changing cancer fundraising experiences. Every year, thousands of walkers unite to take the streets of Toronto and challenge themselves to walk and raise vital funds for cancer research and care at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. 

This year, La Roche-Posay will be walking 15 kilometers and raising $15,000, which will go directly towards melanoma research. These funds will go directly toward supporting the Princess Margaret Hospital’s world-leading clinicians and researchers to detect cancers earlier, diagnose with more precision, target treatment for each patient and support patients and their families throughout the cancer journey.

My involvement in Melanoma Month this year

On my fourth anniversary of diagnosis of advanced melanoma skin cancer (which is this week), I am reflecting on my experience, and that of those around me.  Above all, I am grateful for all of the support I have received, and I am motivated to carry forward that feeling.  That is why I do what I do, in working for Save Your Skin Foundation.  

I have told you lots about Save Your Skin and how they have helped me - just check the label to the right of this blog. I have also told Save Your Skin lots about how you have helped me... my family and friends in Ontario, who really floated this boat in those couple years where the water was extremely rough.  

I love you both, and my girls love you both. And now, by some bizarre miracle, I have the chance to connect you - my family and friends, with my Save Your Skin family and friends.  May 10, in melanoma awareness month, in Toronto, we are having a party. :-)   A big, kickass party.

If there is any way you may be interested in helping to support this event (that I am seriously devoted to) (for many reasons that I have already explained on this blog) (many times), I would love it.  Claire and Cass would love it, my co-workers would love it, and all of the patients we represent would love it.  

Tickets include delicious catering, yummy cocktails, a super fun night with a silent auction and entertainment, lots of hugs, and a sprinkling of updates on how awesome it is to be sun safe and melanoma patient supportive.  We're even launching a big project we've been working on, a lovely video of some patient friends who represent the work we do at Save Your Skin Foundation.  

Here is the link to the Eventbrite information page, for more details or to buy tickets: 

Save Your Skin Foundation Giving Hope Gala & Auction 2018

If you can't make it, I understand, but if there is anything you can or want to do to support the event, and you know I never ask for donations.. but if you wish to, you could do so here: 

SaveYourSkin.ca/donatenow/

Thank you 

 

 

 

In response to this press release last week, I wrote below article for HuffPost: 

This article was originally called "Canadians Need to Know They May Not Get Available Cancer Treatments" but I digress....

Patient Advocacy 101

eeeek - when I first explored the "advocacy" option of my melanoma journey, it wasn't entirely intentional... and I was intimidated, to say the least.  I had to read and re-read the advice posted online and really think it through.  

I was sure I needed to have my voice heard (and my family may or may not have been tired of hearing it!!); I had to go big... just a bite at a time, but bigger.  

I had already asked as many Oncologists as I could get my hands on about my disease, and how it may affect my future, and that of my kids (who, for the record, now have the dubious distinction of a close family history of cancer. For the rest of their lives they have to answer those questions when asked about their family medical history.)

I am starting to get more comfortable with advocacy, but the most important thing I have learned about it is that any little bit I do to contribute to it is helpful.  Every little bit helps, as with everything worth working toward in life. 

Last February I spoke at the meeting Save Your Skin hosted at Queen's Park, and I was nervous.  But I spoke about what I knew.  I was sure about what message I wanted to convey to the people in the room that night, it was my story after all, my family and I had lived it.  

Following that meeting I wrote a letter to Federal Minister of Health: Hon. Dr. Jane Philpott - thankfully I had help writing that letter! (I'm a decent writer, but not the political kind) It was my story, but with the background information and format needed to support it's credibility.  

A few months later I wrote another letter, to Dr. Eric Hoskins, Minister of Health in Ontario.  And just yesterday I attended a conference at which many patient groups were represented, and I learned even more about how I can get help trying to get my needs met, as a cancer patient in Canada.  

The painful memories of my experiences not that long ago motivate me to spend a bit of time sharing the reality of the situation.  And I have been hearing even more painful stories from across the country about Canadians that are not able to get access to cancer drugs that have been approved for use in Canada, but are not funded in their province. 

That's a thing.  That happens.  These days.  And you never know when it may affect you until you're right smack dab in the middle of it.  

The reason I am telling you all of this now?  RIGHT HERE:  this excerpt from yesterday's press release by Save Your Skin Foundation:

"In June 2016 the first PD-1 immuno-oncology treatment for melanoma, Keytruda, was listed to the provincial formulary with a recommendation to fund either Keytruda or Yervoy, but not both – so that anyone having received either of these treatments through standard treatment or in a clinical trial as of June 2, 2016 would not have access to any other immuno-oncology treatment, regardless of having two distinct mechanisms of action. Meaning any patient who does not respond to one immunotherapy has no opportunity to access a second line therapy option (in the BRAF wildtype population)." 

:-(

It's not as hard as I thought it would be to share my opinion with the leaders of our country and as such, our health care system.  Please... take it from me (one who always backs away from politically-charged conversations) - if I can do it?  YOU can do it.  

Should you feel inclined to take a few moments to email - doesn't even have to be snail mail - our provincial and federal leaders to ask for the treatments that I needed but received only through clinical trial, or... really, I have been spoiled enough with all this surviving stuff... how about an Ask for those patients who have yet to be as fortunate as myself: those on the wrong side of the coin toss, the gene mutation, or the province borders. 

It is made very easy here! 

I will list the individual resources so you can skip more of my blabbing on.  But for those who might like more description, check it out below this list:

1. Send(with edits) this letter to  Federal Minister of Health: 

Hon. Dr. Jane Philpott

House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario Canada K1A 0A6 

TO: Jane.Philpott@parl.gc.ca

2. Send same letter(with edits) to your Provincial Minister of Health.  Find your province here.

3. Read this  

4. If you are able to do more? Check out the details below:

Patient Advocacy – How YOU Can Help: 
Patient Advocacy Tools and Templates

We urgently need your help. Now is a critical time to push for provincial and federal support for equal timely access to new treatments for all melanoma patients so that no Canadian is left behind.

We urge you to consider writing to your Federal Health Minister and to your local government representatives to convey a request for support. We have also included this template letter, as well as links to appropriate government contacts, making it easy to find out who your provincial and federal representatives are.

The Save Your Skin Foundation has assembled materials to assist you to do the following:

1. Write to your Members of Parliament to share your thoughts on this issue or to request a meeting – contact information for local government members can be found at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parliamentarians/en/members
2. Write to your MLA/MPP asking that he/she write to the Minister of Health (click here to download sample letter)
3. Prepare for and have a meeting with your MLA (talking points and fact sheet)
4. Report back the results of your MLA meeting – contact us by email or phone any time
5. Write a letter for your MLA to send to the Minister of Health
6. Write to your provincial Ministers of Health -(Click here to find out who your provincial Minister of Health is: http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/health-system-systeme-sante/cards-cartes-eng.php)
7. Write to the Minister of Health – contact information can be found here: Federal Minister of Health: Hon. Dr. Jane Philpott – https://goo.gl/MB1XtI

If you’d like a general overview of patient advocacy, you can also download our 2016 advocacy outline by clicking here.

Thank you for taking the time to become involved on behalf of everyone affected by Melanoma across Canada.

Together we can and will make a difference!

Let your voice be heard via social media as well!

Tweet or post to share your message to accounts such as @HealthCanada using hashtags like: 

#FairChance

#MelanomaTreatment #FightMelanoma #HealthCanada #PublicHealth

#CureMelanoma #MelanomaSurvival #PatientsVoice #PatientsFirst

Facebook: 
www.facebook.com/SaveYourSkinFoundation/
www.facebook.com/FondationSauveTaPeau/

Twitter:  
@saveyourskinfdn  
@sauvetapeau

Important new cancer treatments approved by Health Canada marred by major provincial reality disconnect for patients - Press Release 22-Nov-2016

Patient access to innovative new cancer treatments seriously limited by provincial funding recommendations across Canada

Press Release body:

TORONTO, Nov. 22, 2016 /CNW/ - Health Canada recently conditionally approved an advanced new treatment option for Canadians battling metastatic melanoma. The treatment consists of a combination of two immuno-oncology agents: Opdivo + Yervoy, the first combination in the immunotherapy space. While many applauded the approval, numerous patients and doctors are holding their breath to see what provincial recommendations will come if approved for reimbursement by the pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR). Across Canada, cancer patients are being restricted to access to innovative new treatments due to funding recommendations made by health technology assessment agencies and provinces. Over the past year, patient access to some cancer treatments approved by Health Canada have been seriously limited as the result of these recommendations.

In June 2016 the first PD-1 immuno-oncology treatment for melanoma, Keytruda, was listed to the provincial formulary with a recommendation to fund either Keytruda or Yervoy, but not both – so that anyone having received either of these treatments through standard treatment or in a clinical trial as of June 2, 2016 would not have access to any other immuno-oncology treatment, regardless of having two distinct mechanisms of action. Meaning any patient who does not respond to one immunotherapy has no opportunity to access a second line therapy option (in the BRAF wildtype population).

 

Many more immuno-oncology drugs are currently in review, including a number aimed at treating non small cell lung cancer, the number one cause of cancer related deaths in Canadians and women. 

The Save Your Skin Foundation, along with other patient advocacy groups, are exceedingly concerned about what recommendations these approvals will come with and how they will affect access to important, potentially lifesaving therapies.

Kathy Barnard, Founder of the Save Your Skin Foundation, owes her survival of metastatic melanoma to Yervoy, which she received in a clinical trial, after failing on all previous treatments. "Finally, after 30 years, we are seeing innovative treatments that are helping patients live longer, but when provinces make funding recommendations that limit treatment options for patients, we are no further advanced than we were 30 years ago when no treatment options existed at all," says Barnard. "We're hearing from patients all over the country who are not getting the drugs they need and they don't know why."

It is not known yet what the funding recommendations on this new combination drug will be, however, currently in Canada, Yervoy, a CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitor, as a single agent treatment, has now been restricted across all provinces - the only country in the world where this is the situation. 

"With this, we find Canada one step forward and two steps back, leaving some patients without access to the treatment they need. There is a clear lack of transparency as well as a lack of innovation in the approval process that is in stark contrast with the ever-evolving developments we are seeing in the treatment of cancer," expressed Barnard.

Barnard goes on to state that health technology assessment (HTA) agencies, governments and manufacturers must work together with oncologists to find strategies that translate to the best course of treatment for patients. "We need to work together to find innovative solutions that ensure breakthrough treatments are available to all patients, while also reducing time delays, in order to keep our health care system sustainable," said Barnard. "Cancer patients need to have access to cancer drug options, and access needs to be available from within the communities where they live."

About the Save Your Skin Foundation

The Save Your Skin Foundation is a Canadian registered not-for-profit that supports those touched by skin cancer by helping patients to navigate their journey through informed, compassionate care and personalized support to those touched by melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Through programs and outreach, we support education and ongoing awareness about skin cancer, from prevention to survivorship. The Foundation also acts as a conduit for health care professionals and patients in the Canadian health technology assessment and reimbursement landscape. Please visit www.saveyourskin.ca for more information.

SOURCE Save Your Skin Foundation

For further information: Save Your Skin Foundation Media Relations: Karran Finlay, 1.778.988.8194, karran@saveyourskin.ca, saveyourskin.ca