The

Brenda MacDonald

Melanoma Research Foundation
Media
Lynn Wilkinson on ABC 7 - Breakthrough Melanoma Research *You must have quicktime to display this video*

IN THE NEWS:

'Breakthrough' melanoma drug shrinks tumors

By Liz Szabo, USA Today

 

The pill, known as PLX4032, doesn't cure melanoma, and it helps only the roughly 50% of melanoma patients whose tumors have a mutation in a key gene called BRAF. But among those patients in the study, 81% saw their tumors shrink. And for those 32 patients, the drug kept melanoma in check for a median of seven months, says the study's lead author, Keith Flaherty of Massachusetts General Hospital.

 

Visit the following link to read the rest of the article

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-08-26-1Amelanoma26_ST_N.htm

 

New treatment for advanced melanoma shrinks tumors

Drug reduced tumors in 80 percent of patients, study says.

 

BOSTON   An experimental targeted cancer drug shrank advanced melanoma tumors in 81 percent of patients with the deadly and hard-to-treat cancer, doctors said Wednesday.

The findings were part of an early phase study used to determine the best dose of the experimental drug PLX4032, now in late-stage clinical trials. It is designed to target tumor cells with a mutation in a gene called BRAF. The drug is made by Roche and privately held Plexxikon.

Click on the link provided to access the entire article and view the video clip at the end

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38854884/ns/health-cancer

 

Melanoma drug cuts death risk in major trial

Experimental treatment raises hopes of reversing advanced cases

A cancer drug being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb reduced the risk of death from advanced melanoma by more than 30 percent in a late stage major clinical trial, representing a potential major advance in treating a disease for which there are few options.

Click on the link provided for the full article

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37526739/ns/health-cancer/from/ET

 

 

The Brenda MacDonald Melanoma Research Foundation was established in May 2005 by her husband, Chad MacDonald, and their three sons, Zachary, Matthew and Kyle, Great Falls residents, as a result of Brenda's untimely death due to Melanoma (the deadlist form of skin cancer).  The great work of the foundation and all of it's supporters is often recognized as evidenced by the articles below.
Foundations Honored For Role in Fighting Melanoma
-A Statement from the Melanoma Research Foundation-
 
HILLSBOROUGH, N.J.—The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF), the largest independent, national organization devoted to melanoma in the United States, released the following statement thanking the many organizations that help to support innovative research into this dreaded disease.
 
The Melanoma Research Foundation expresses its deepest gratitude to the numerous foundations that give so generously to melanoma research each year. Through annual events and tireless fundraising efforts, these organizations raise thousands of dollars to find new pathways to a cure. Many of these contributions are generated and given in honor of someone who lost their battle with melanoma – and these gifts are critical to supporting the innovative melanoma research that remains woefully underfunded. 
 
“The research community is poised to make unprecedented strides in melanoma,” said Tim Turnham, executive director of the MRF.  “Thanks to the organizations that continue to make these essential contributions, we have an opportunity to change the face of melanoma for future generations.  It is my hope that collectively, these gifts will help save the lives of others fighting this disease.”
 
There are many different ways foundations raise money for melanoma research. For example, recently the Brenda MacDonald Melanoma Research Foundation – created in May 2005 by Brenda’s husband and sons – hosted the First Annual Wings of Hope Gala in Washington, DC. The sold-out event raised more than $400,000 and featured a live auction with glamorous prizes such as a week in Tuscany, a trip to Turks and Caicos, and a Super Bowl package.  In Chicago, we saw Teb’s Troops, which honors Tricia E. Black (or “Teb” as she was known to family and friends) rally her “troops” throughout the year to raise funds for the fight against melanoma. And other organizations, including the Bill Walter III Melanoma Research Fund (established for Bill Walter III) and the Susan Fazio Foundation for Melanoma Research (honoring Susan Theresa Fazio) have funded research grants and clinical trials in their names. 
 
The MRF is working to bridge the gap to ensure patients of tomorrow have the help and hope they deserve. Thanks to the efforts of these foundations and other individuals, the MRF is able to provide emerging and established scientific investigators with highly sought-after grants that will allow them to explore new avenues in melanoma biology and treatments, ultimately leading to a cure. 
Melisse Barrett

I was diagnosed with my melanoma a year and a half ago. My family has been rocked with this cancer ---my mother and my uncle have had early stage melanoma, and my cousin tragically died within 18 months of her melanoma being diagnosed. Needless to say, I felt that I needed to be proactive when it came my skin. So I scheduled an appointment with dermatologist in February of 2007 to have a thorough skin exam. During the exam, I drew his attention to round raised bump on my right shin. This had previously been diagnosed as a dermatofibroma, a benign lesion that many women get on their legs and can be removed for cosmetic reasons. He confirmed this and said that removing it could result in a scar worse than the bump and didn’t recommend removal. But this bump continued to bother me and appeared to be getting larger, so a year later I went to another dermatologist and he recommended removal, and referred me to plastic surgeon as the skin layer on the shin is very thin. I had the surgery, and a week later I learned I had Clark Level IV melanoma. Shock and dismay doesn’t begin to describe my feelings – I felt I had very much missed something. My surgeon’s comment was “we ALL missed this.” But I was the one living with it.

So I had another surgery – this time a wide margin incision to remove the lesion and surrounding tissue, a skin graft using some of my stomach skin to repair the shin, and a sentinel node surgery to biopsy the lymph node in my groin – the node most likely to have melanoma cells if it had spread. Fortunately, it had not spread to the lymph, so that at least was something. But now I was required to stay on the couch with my leg raised for nearly 8 weeks, so the skin graft could heal. In the meantime I had a PET/CT scan, colonoscopy, and several other tests to rule out tumors in my organs. Then my oncologist suggested I do Interferon treatment – immunotherapy, which is the only kind of “adjuvant” treatment done for melanoma. So, in late December I started the treatment, which required daily IV infusions of high dose Interferon at the clinic for a month, and then injections at home 3 times per week thereafter for up to a year. I cannot begin to describe the effects of this treatment. The worst was the constant fatigue/ hangover feeling and lack of any type of energy. I endured the treatment for 4 months -- and decided to discontinue it because my husband and I were going on a trip in Europe and I did not want to take the medicine with me. I had the option of going back on it when I returned, but I made the final decision to stop – fortunately late studies are indicating that the high dose period may be the most effective.

So here I am now – I feel that I “have come out the other side” but need to tell others to never doubt your instincts when it comes to anything going on in one’s body. Push your agenda and when in doubt about something on your skin – insist on a biopsy.

I needn’t tell others that a melanoma story – or any cancer story – doesn’t end. There is a persistent fear of recurrence, and that is the legacy we must live with. My tendency after the surgery, the recovery and the treatment was to not look back, but I think looking forward is to confront the beast and contribute my time and my story to the MRF.