› Forums › Cutaneous Melanoma Community › I’ve just been on television in Australia re melanoma
- This topic has 10 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 2 months ago by washoegal.
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- September 14, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Hi everyone
Hi everyone
I've just been on State Television in Australia. I was diagnosed with Stage III melanoma 10 years ago and I am currently NED. I was treated with radiation therapy, my patnet is under "nicky". I'm not financially well off but this being my 10 year NED anniversay, and having just moved to Brisbane, Australia, I decided to scrape up all the coins I could find and donated $100 to the Princess Alexander Hospital Research Foundation in Brisbane who are doing ground breaking work in Cancer research for melanoma and other cancers including the vaccination program by Dr Fraser with the Giardisal vaccine for cervical cancer.
Anyway, if you donated $5.00 you would get a plastic duck with a number on it and it would be raced down the Brisbane River. The first prize was a toyota yaris and out of 21,000 ducks worth of donations from people, my duck came first, and I am so excited, it is unbelievable.
So here is the interview and also a little bit more of a press release to any one contributed below it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GagCONDT4us
"When going Quackers really saves lives
Thank you so much for supporting the PA Research Foundation for the Great Brisbane Duck Race. The sale of over 21,000 ducks has raised in excess of $100,000 for cancer research which will literally helps save lives. This is a record achievement for the event and you have helped our goal become a reality. Thank you.
The Winners are:
1st Place: 19544 Nicola from Windsor, QLD
2nd Place:13842 Raymond from Richlands, QLD
The winner of the Great Brisbane Duck Race Nicola from Windsor said “I owe my life to the PA, the least I could do when I heard about the event was to buy a Flotilla of ducks to show my support, I never thought I would win”.
Nicola was almost in tears when we called her to tell her the good news and she said the timing could not have been any better as her old car was about to pack it in.
Nicola owes her life to a PA funded research project headed up at the PA Hospital by Professor Bryan Burmeister. She has been part of the special 17 year international project which is the first of its kind to prove the effectiveness of radiation therapy in curing melanoma. It is now benefiting patients across the globe including Nicola.
“I am a lucky duck in more ways than one, thank you so much to the PA and the invaluable research that they have helped make possible.” She said
The funds raised from Great Brisbane Duck Race will go to support cancer research in the areas of prostate cancer, skin cancer, leukaemia and breast cancer research.
There are more projects that need our funding than we can support so money raised like this is just wonderful. Thank you so much.
All the live action and photos of the event will be up on the website later this week.
Many thanks from Quackers and the PA Research Foundation Team.
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- September 14, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Here is an extract about the treatment that I had
"Princess Alexandra Hospital has placed Queensland at the forefront of international medicine with a world first in melanoma treatment.
International research conducted over 17 years has become the first of its kind to prove the effectiveness of radiation therapy in curing melanoma.
Radiation Oncology trial director, Professor Bryan Burmeister, said the study had shown a course of radiation therapy after a patient has undergone surgery significantly reduces the recurrence of the disease.
He said the results will benefit patients with melanoma across the globe.“Our research into the importance of radiation therapy in treating melanoma is particularly important in Queensland, where we experience the highest rate of melanoma in the world,”he said.
“Melanoma patients who require lymph node surgery normally have a high risk of recurrence – we’ve shown that radiation therapy reduces their chance of the disease coming back from 32% to less than 18%.”
Dr Burmeister’s desire to stop the recurrence in the lymph nodes goes beyond cementing PA Hospital, Brisbane and Queensland as the international leader in melanoma treatment.
“Recurrence of melanoma in the lymph nodes can be extremely disabling with swelling of the arm (lymphedema), fungation, bleeding discharge, and pain,” he said.
“Improved treatment is about effective prevention of this recurrence through radiation five days a week for four weeks, which is not difficult or painful for the patient.”
The research, which commenced in 1992, aimed to address the high rate of melanoma recurrence in patients who required surgery to the lymph node. It was led by surgeon Assoc Prof Mark Smithers with Professor Burmeister.
Initial results in treating melanoma suggested that radiation was effective in reducing recurrence of disease but for the treatment to be proved, years of investigation and data collection were necessary to establish the best and safest method of treating melanoma.
Dr Burmeister has continued to advance the trial, with significant investment from his base at Princess Alexandra Hospital.
“PA Hospital has certainly done its bit in proving these results with 45% of participants in the second phase of the study and 40% from the third phase coming through the Radiation Oncology Unit here,” he said.
“I’m proud of our 17-year effort in proving that radiation is necessary to successfully treat melanoma,” Dr Burmeister said.
Dr Burmeister presented the findings of the trial to the American society of clinical oncology this year and has been invited to present this world-first at the American society of therapeutic radiation oncology in Chicago in November 2009.
Research Timeline
-
Phase 1: Initial results highlighting reduced recurrence and limited side effects were first published in
1995. -
Phase 2: A much larger study involving 234 patients showed the recurrence of the disease was less than 15% in patients who received radiation therapy. The research involved 234 patients from eight
centres across the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group, with 45 per cent of participants coming from the PAH. The results were published in 2006. -
Phase 3: A third study focused on patients with lymph node disease having surgery alone, compared with patients who had both surgery and radiation therapy. With 250 patients recruited from 16 centres around the world, the results showed a reduction from 32% to 18% recurrence with the addition of radiation therapy. The results were published in May 2009.
PA Research Foundation
Building 1, Princess Alexandra Hospital, 199 Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba Qld 4102
Phone: 07 3176 2359 Fax: 07 3176 7303 -
- September 14, 2010 at 9:16 pm
Here is an extract about the treatment that I had
"Princess Alexandra Hospital has placed Queensland at the forefront of international medicine with a world first in melanoma treatment.
International research conducted over 17 years has become the first of its kind to prove the effectiveness of radiation therapy in curing melanoma.
Radiation Oncology trial director, Professor Bryan Burmeister, said the study had shown a course of radiation therapy after a patient has undergone surgery significantly reduces the recurrence of the disease.
He said the results will benefit patients with melanoma across the globe.“Our research into the importance of radiation therapy in treating melanoma is particularly important in Queensland, where we experience the highest rate of melanoma in the world,”he said.
“Melanoma patients who require lymph node surgery normally have a high risk of recurrence – we’ve shown that radiation therapy reduces their chance of the disease coming back from 32% to less than 18%.”
Dr Burmeister’s desire to stop the recurrence in the lymph nodes goes beyond cementing PA Hospital, Brisbane and Queensland as the international leader in melanoma treatment.
“Recurrence of melanoma in the lymph nodes can be extremely disabling with swelling of the arm (lymphedema), fungation, bleeding discharge, and pain,” he said.
“Improved treatment is about effective prevention of this recurrence through radiation five days a week for four weeks, which is not difficult or painful for the patient.”
The research, which commenced in 1992, aimed to address the high rate of melanoma recurrence in patients who required surgery to the lymph node. It was led by surgeon Assoc Prof Mark Smithers with Professor Burmeister.
Initial results in treating melanoma suggested that radiation was effective in reducing recurrence of disease but for the treatment to be proved, years of investigation and data collection were necessary to establish the best and safest method of treating melanoma.
Dr Burmeister has continued to advance the trial, with significant investment from his base at Princess Alexandra Hospital.
“PA Hospital has certainly done its bit in proving these results with 45% of participants in the second phase of the study and 40% from the third phase coming through the Radiation Oncology Unit here,” he said.
“I’m proud of our 17-year effort in proving that radiation is necessary to successfully treat melanoma,” Dr Burmeister said.
Dr Burmeister presented the findings of the trial to the American society of clinical oncology this year and has been invited to present this world-first at the American society of therapeutic radiation oncology in Chicago in November 2009.
Research Timeline
-
Phase 1: Initial results highlighting reduced recurrence and limited side effects were first published in
1995. -
Phase 2: A much larger study involving 234 patients showed the recurrence of the disease was less than 15% in patients who received radiation therapy. The research involved 234 patients from eight
centres across the Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group, with 45 per cent of participants coming from the PAH. The results were published in 2006. -
Phase 3: A third study focused on patients with lymph node disease having surgery alone, compared with patients who had both surgery and radiation therapy. With 250 patients recruited from 16 centres around the world, the results showed a reduction from 32% to 18% recurrence with the addition of radiation therapy. The results were published in May 2009.
PA Research Foundation
Building 1, Princess Alexandra Hospital, 199 Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba Qld 4102
Phone: 07 3176 2359 Fax: 07 3176 7303 -
- September 15, 2010 at 2:46 am
Congratulations, Nicky! You're a good soul to use the car to transport others to and from their treatment, too.
You give me hope, because radiation therapy was the only real option I had after my LND (due to other autoimmune diseases). I'm not a very good candidate for all the new treatments that look so promising, so the positive stats on radiation are a morale booster, for sure.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful news!
Vera (Stage IIIb)
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- September 15, 2010 at 2:46 am
Congratulations, Nicky! You're a good soul to use the car to transport others to and from their treatment, too.
You give me hope, because radiation therapy was the only real option I had after my LND (due to other autoimmune diseases). I'm not a very good candidate for all the new treatments that look so promising, so the positive stats on radiation are a morale booster, for sure.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful news!
Vera (Stage IIIb)
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- September 15, 2010 at 2:46 am
Congratulations, Nicky! You're a good soul to use the car to transport others to and from their treatment, too.
You give me hope, because radiation therapy was the only real option I had after my LND (due to other autoimmune diseases). I'm not a very good candidate for all the new treatments that look so promising, so the positive stats on radiation are a morale booster, for sure.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful news!
Vera (Stage IIIb)
-
- September 15, 2010 at 2:46 am
Congratulations, Nicky! You're a good soul to use the car to transport others to and from their treatment, too.
You give me hope, because radiation therapy was the only real option I had after my LND (due to other autoimmune diseases). I'm not a very good candidate for all the new treatments that look so promising, so the positive stats on radiation are a morale booster, for sure.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful news!
Vera (Stage IIIb)
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Tagged: cutaneous melanoma
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