MelaNoMore History and Launch on 27th September 2019
The Group was formed from a discussion between the care professionals and patients at St Luke’s Cancer Centre, Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, Surrey during 2018.
It took over 9 months to identify the requirements and deliverables of a melanoma support group, which are reflected in Our Aims. The formal Launch was on 27th September 2019.
History:
MelaNoMore was founded in 2018 by a small group of patients under treatment at that time and with the support and encouragement of Mr F Pakzad, Consultant Surgeon, Dr Mazhar Ajaz, Consultant Oncologist, and Delia Sworm, Cancer Nurse Specialist.
We are pleased to note that we became the first successful patient support group in the country for Melanoma sufferers, and are proud to be supporting our members through what is a very difficult time for them personally and also for the medical teams as we battle through the back-log of the Covid 19 crisis. We have been fortunate to have strong support from the medical teams, and would particularly mention Delia Sworm and Kelly Smith, whose help has been immeasurable, both in introducing new patients to MelaNoMore and in supporting the group and its development.
The name MelaNoMore was devised by Lisa Roberts, a founder member, in recognition of eradication of the cancer and also to further inform people about the disease; “know more” being a pun of the “NoMore”. Sadly, Lisa was taken from us and we are grateful for the financial help her family have provided to us over the years.
The initial “seed money” to start MelaNoMore was donated by Macmillan and the Macmillan Engagement Lead, Mark Witcomb, offered valuable advice on how to set up a support group.
During 2020, we have moved from “tea and chat” meetings to virtual cafes (now called Well-being Webinars) and built a website to disseminate our news and signpost further sources of support and information. We also introduced a new “buddy” system in October 2020, providing valuable one-to-one support which has racked up over 800 contacts.
None of these achievements would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Paul Duhig – co-founder and Chairman from inception to January 2021. Everyone involved with MelaNoMore is acutely aware that we would not be where we are today without his leadership, and it was therefore with sadness when Paul decided to retire from MelaNoMore due to ill health.
Today, the MelaNoMore Support Group Committee, led by Aga Kehinde, continues to honour the initial aims of the group and the feedback from the members continues to shape our future direction.
Talk More
Through social & virtual events, such as our Wellbeing Webinars, where everyone can meet, chat and seek advice. We have now returned to "real" social gatherings.
Click here for ~ Newsletters
Learn More
As well as running educational events, we have a website where lots of information about Melanoma, will be easily accessible and pooled into one simple point of access.
Click here for ~ Useful Contacts
Support More
We have set up the MelaNoMore Buddies, who team up on a one-to-one basis with Friends going through similar experiences, providing friendship and a listening ear.