Melanoma isn’t just skin cancer

There’s a dangerous misconception that melanoma is “just” a cancer of the skin that is a minor and easily treatable condition. In reality, melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and a life-altering disease that affects approximately 178,000 Americans per year. Of these, 10,000 will die from melanoma in this year alone. That’s one person every hour of every day.

In my role as the chief executive officer of the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF), I talk to patients and survivors every day who understand the consequences of these misconceptions about melanoma. For instance, there’s the assumption that it only happens to individuals with pale skin or that you can’t get it if you tan but don’t burn, or even that it only occurs on your skin. The truth is melanoma does not discriminate by age, race or gender. Nor is it just a skin cancer. While the majority of cases are linked to ultraviolet (UV) light exposure, some of the most aggressive forms of melanoma can develop elsewhere on the body or in areas that never see the sun – the eyes, scalp, nails, feet, mouth and more.

{mosads}The MRF is committed to finding a cure for this aggressive cancer by funding research, increasing education and supporting those fighting the disease. Federal support is essential to this effort – organizations like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Cancer Institute (NCI) can accelerate the development of breakthrough treatments and therapies for melanoma if they are properly funded. In addition, melanoma prevention needs to be a public health priority that is supported through common sense legislative initiatives.

Today, almost 100 volunteer advocates from the nationwide melanoma community will swarm Capitol Hill for the Melanoma Research Foundation’s annual Advocacy Summit & Hill Day to share how melanoma has impacted their lives and advocate for policies that could save others from having to face the same pain and hardship.

As the largest independent organization dedicated to advancing research, education and advocacy on behalf of the 1 million Americans living with melanoma, the MRF works diligently with patients, caregivers, physicians and researchers to identify the most effective ways to address critical issues facing our community. Here’s what Congress can do – today – to help implement change: 

• Protect funding for the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program (PRCRP)
  • The PRCRP benefits service members, their families and the American public. It supports research into the prevention, detection, treatment and survivorship of cancers that are caused by environmental exposure. With up to 90 percent of melanoma cases being linked to ultraviolet rays, this disease should remain a primary topic area for further study under this program.
• Ensure that melanoma is addressed in the Fiscal 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services bill, specifically the inclusion of melanoma-specific report language under NCI and $5 million in funding for the Skin Cancer Prevention Activities of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
• Preserve the tax on indoor tanning enacted under the Affordable Care Act.
  • Young people who use tanning beds are eight times more likely to develop melanoma. Discouraging this dangerous practice can ultimately save the lives of thousands.
• Address Rep. Charlie Dent’s (R-Pa.) H.Res 282 to encourage parents, childcare professionals and teachers to prevent sunburns and reduce the incidence of skin cancers like melanoma in young children.
  • Pediatric melanoma incidence rates are on the rise – this legislation will further protect our nation’s youth from dangerous sun damage and promote skin protection from a young age. 

Members of Congress, you have the opportunity to have a real and lasting impact by protecting those you represent from a deadly and largely preventable disease. The Melanoma Research Foundation is poised and ready to help Congress put thoughts into action. Together, we can ensure researchers have the resources they need to advance treatment options for melanoma and find a cure for this deadly, aggressive form of cancer.

Kyleigh LiPira, MBA, is the CEO of the Melanoma Research Foundation, the largest independent organization devoted to melanoma treatment, prevention and advocacy.