Melanoma patients and family members,
My name is Lisa Russell and I am a Stage IV Melanoma survivor. MKM continues to work to promote awareness of the disease, educate the community on prevention and provide support to patients and families affected by Melanoma.
I will be working to establish a strong support group for melanoma patients and their families. I hope that you will consider joining me in this effort. I want to try to pull together patients and family members interested in being supportive to others who are:
- Facing treatment for melanoma
- Facing learning to survive with the disease
- Facing the loss of one dear to them because of this disease
Your experience may very well help someone new to diagnosis and treatment, or loss, if you are willing to share. Many wish to put the Melanoma experience behind them and move on. Others find that while they celebrate living each day, what they have learned may ease the burden of someone else.
My vision for this group is informal. It could be gatherings over lunch or dinner, shared activities such as walks at local parks, community service projects, and visits to patients in hospital (if they desire), transportation to doctor appointments or tests, and other ideas that you know to be helpful.
I picture the development of true friendships forming a strong community of caring individuals which may bring something positive to being diagnosed with this disease.
Last year we tried monthly gatherings. which were not well attended and will not be continued this year.
Please give some thought to how we might design an effective support system. What might you say to a patient and their family as they learn this disease has entered their lives? Please send your thoughts to me at lrussell@fuse.net . I will contact you to discuss your thoughts and what we could do.
Lisa Russell
