The Save Your Skin Foundation Applauds Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario's Decision to Provide Provincial Funding for Melanoma Treatment

The Save Your Skin Foundation commends provinces' decision to provide funding for Zelboraf, a treatment for patients with deadly skin cancer

VANCOUVER, Sept. 19, 2012 /CNW/ - The Save Your Skin Foundation applauds the Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario government's decision to provide Zelboraf (Vemurafenib) for the treatment of metastatic melanoma. Following the final pCODR (pan- Canadian Oncology Drug Review) recommendation supporting provincial funding for Zelboraf, which was made public on June 1, the melanoma community has been eagerly awaiting provincial support of Zelboraf. The recommendation outlined that funding should support Zelboraf as a first-line treatment for patients presenting with BRAF V600 mutation positive unresectable stage IIIC, or for patients with metastatic melanoma. Zelboraf represent one of the first new treatments for melanoma in over a decade.

Currently there is no standard treatment for metastatic melanoma, and there is a need for effective therapies that improve the overall survival rate. "We believe the best available therapies should be accessible to patients. The melanoma community has been waiting for years for a breakthrough in the treatment of metastatic melanoma and we are now seeing progress," said Kathy Barnard, founder of Save Your Skin Foundation and a melanoma patient herself. "We have been eagerly anticipating the nation-wide funding of Zelboraf and are pleased to see Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Ontario supporting the needs of melanoma patients."

The Save Your Skin Foundation is hopeful for nation wide funding and availability of Zelboraf within the next few months, which would provide the latest advancements to cancer patients across Canada, and eliminate uneven coverage between provinces.

About Melanoma in Canada
Every year, thousands of Canadians are diagnosed with melanoma, with the incidence of the disease increasing faster than that of any other cancer. One in 74 men and 1 in 90 women are expected to develop melanoma during their lifetime; 1 in 284 men and 1 in 486 women will die of it. It is the most dangerous type of skin cancer, causing 75 percent of deaths associated with skin cancer.

About the Save Your Skin Foundation
The Save Your Skin Foundation is a Canadian based not-for-profit Foundation. Through events and other initiatives, the Foundation focuses on: raising funds for education and awareness, providing emotional and financial support to those dealing with melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, and supporting the ongoing research and treatment of skin cancer - especially melanoma.

SOURCE: Save Your Skin Foundation

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