AIM AT MELANOMA

WEBSITEAIM AT MELANOMA ("AIM") IS AN INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION ENGAGED IN A WIDE RANGE OF PATIENT ADVOCACY INITIATIVES FOR THE PURPOSE OF RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT MELANOMA AND TO SUPPORT THOSE IMPACTED BY THE DISEASE. AMONG THESE IS THE MAINTENANCE OF THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE U.S. WEBSITE ON MELANOMA (WWW.AIMATMELANOMA.ORG). IN 2024, AIM CONTINUED TO CREATE ADDITIONAL CONTENT FOR THE PURPOSE OF MEETING THEIRTHE NEEDS OF THE MELANOMA COMMUNITY. THIS INCLUDED, BUT WAS NOT LIMITED TO, MAKING IT EASIER FOR USERS TO IDENTIFY PERTINENT INFORMATION TO ASSIST THEM IN BETTER UNDERSTANDING THEIR MELANOMA DIAGNOSIS AND STAGING, TREATMENT OPTIONS, CLINICAL TRIAL OPPORTUNITIES, RECOGNIZE AND MANAGEMENT OF SIDE EFFECTS OF TREATMENT, RISK OF RECURRENCE, FOLLOW-UP CARE, AND THE PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE DISEASE. THE ORGANIZATION CONTINUED TO USE VARIOUS RESOURCES SUCH AS SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND BROCHURES DISTRIBUTED TO HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS THROUGHOUT THE U.S, AND OTHER REGIONS OF THE WORLD. TO EDUCATE PATIENTS WITH MELANOMA ABOUT THE WEBSITE'S RESOURCES. THE WEBSITE WAS UPDATED REGULARLY FOR MEDICAL ACCURACY IN ORDER TO REFLECT THE CURRENT STANDARD OF CARE IN MELANOMA AND WITH CONTENT RELATED TO ISSUES FACING THE MELANOMA COMMUNITY. THE U.S. WEBSITE ALONE HAD MORE THAN 88,000 UNIQUE VISITORS EACH MONTH. THIS IS AN INCREASE FROM 2023.PATIENT ADVOCACYTHROUGHOUT 2024, AIM CONTINUED TO PROVIDE A FREE ONCOLOGY PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT ON CALL SERVICE THROUGH ITS ASK AN EXPERT INITIATIVE. PATIENTS WITH MELANOMA, CAREGIVERS, AND FAMILIES REACHED OUT TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THEIR/ THEIR LOVED ONE'S MELANOMA DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT OPTIONS, CLINICAL TRIALS, SIDE EFFECT MANAGEMENT, AND FOLLOW-UP CARE AS WELL AS QUESTIONS REGARDING PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION OF THE DISEASE. AIM CONTINUED TO COORDINATE NUMEROUS PATIENT ADVOCACY EVENTS, WHICH INCLUDED 10 PATIENT AND CAREGIVER SYMPOSIA LED BY NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED ONCOLOGISTS WHO SPECIALIZE IN MELANOMA AT MAJOR CANCER CENTERS SUCH AS MD ANDERSON CANCER CENTER, SARAH CANNON, ROSWELL PARK COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER, AND STANFORD CANCER CENTER. THE SYMPOSIA ARE OFFERED AS HYBRID EVENTS SO THAT INDIVIDUALS COULD ATTEND IN-PERSON EVENTS BUT COULD ALSO WATCHED VIA LIVE STREAM. AIM ALSO VIDEOTAPED AND EDITED THESE SYMPOSIUMS, WHICH WERE THEN UPLOADED ONTO YOUTUBE AND AIM'S WEBSITE SO THEY COULD BE VIEWED BY INDIVIDUALS IN THE U.S. AND WORLDWIDE AT ANY TIME. AIM CONTINUED TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FOR PATIENTS, FAMILIES, AND SURVIVORS THROUGH A PROGRAM CALLED PEER CONNECT. PEER CONNECT IS A PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT PROGRAM, AIM AT MELANOMA'S ANSWER TO THE ONGOING NEED FOR SUPPORT IN THE MELANOMA COMMUNITY. PATIENTS WITH MELANOMA, FAMILY MEMBERS, AND CAREGIVERS WHO JOIN THE PROGRAM ARE MATCHED WITH A PEER, AND FROM THERE THE PAIR COMMUNICATE IN A WAY THAT IS COMFORTABLE FOR BOTH. MEMBERS OF PEER CONNECT PROVIDE EACH OTHER WITH KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, EMOTIONAL SUPPORT, AND MORE. IN 2024, AIM INCREASED THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM BY 25%. AIM CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN A VERY ACTIVE FACEBOOK PAGE, WITH OVER 26,000 FOLLOWERS, AN X ACCOUNT (FORMERLY KNOWN AS TWITTER) OF OVER 7,650 FOLLOWERS, AN INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT OF OVER 12,000 FOLLOWERS, A YOUTUBE ACCOUNT OF OVER 4,000 SUBSCRIBERS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE OTHER SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR THE MELANOMA COMMUNITY.AIM CONTINUED TO REPRESENT PATIENTS ON THE TWO LARGEST U.S. COOPERATIVE ONCOLOGY GROUPS, SWOG AND ECOG-ACRIN, THE NCCN, THE ASCO GUIDELINES COMMITTEE, AND THE AAD GUIDELINES OF CARE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF CUTANEOUS MELANOMA COMMITTEE. AIM ALSO PRESENTED ON THE MELANOMA PATIENT PERSPECTIVE AT NUMEROUS MEETINGS BOTH IN THE U.S. AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. TO HELP PATIENTS UNDERSTAND THEIR DISEASE, AIM CONTINUED TO OFFER FROM THE CLINIC TO THE LIVING ROOM, A WEBINAR SERIES THAT IS LIVE STREAMED THROUGH FACEBOOK AND PROVIDES AN IN-DEPTH DISCUSSION ON A SPECIFIC TOPIC WITH A MELANOMA SPECIALIST, SUCH AS AN ONCOLOGIST, RESEARCHER, OR OTHER MEDICAL EXPERT WHO SPECIALIZES IN MELANOMA. AIM ALSO CONTINUED TO OFFER BEYOND THE CLINIC: LIVING WELL WITH MELANOMA, A PODCAST SERIES TO ADDRESS THE PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF A MELANOMA DIAGNOSIS DURING AND BEYOND TREATMENT. AIM ALSO CONTINUED TO OFFER MELANOMA360 BLOG, WHICH FEATURES SURVIVOR STORIES, RESEARCH BREAKTHROUGHS, CURRENT NEWS, HEALTH LIVING INFORMATION ETC.GLOBAL ADVOCACYAIM'S PATIENT ADVOCACY IS A GLOBAL EFFORT. IN 2024, AIM CONTINUED TO SUPPORT AND MENTOR PATIENT ADVOCACY GROUPS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM, PORTUGAL, GERMANY, FRANCE, ITALY, SPAIN, ISRAEL, LATIN AMERICA, BRAZIL, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, EASTERN EUROPE, AND NIGERIA. AIM MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE PATIENT ADVOCATES TO ATTEND INTERNATIONAL MELANOMA MEETINGS, EITHER IN PERSON OR VIRTUALLY, WHERE THEY LEARNED ABOUT THE MOST UP TO DATA INFORMATION ON MELANOMA, AND WHERE THEY PRESENTED THE PATIENT PERSPECTIVE TO RELEVANT GROUPS. AIM CONTINUED TO ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOME OF THEIR RESPECTIVE WEBSITES PROVIDING NOT ONLY TECHNICAL SUPPORT BUT ALSO MATERIAL FOR THEIR SITES. AIM HELD ITS YEARLY IN PERSON MEETING IN GERMANY FOR GLOBAL PATIENT ADVOCATES IN ORDER TO HELP THEM LEARN MORE ABOUT MELANOMA ADVANCEMENTS AS WELL AS HOW TO USE AI ASSISTANTS TO HELP DEVELOP CONTENT TO EDUCATE PATIENTS AND CAREGIVERS. AIM ALSO VIRTUALLY MET WITH GLOBAL ADVOCATES TO HELP PROMOTE COLLABORATIONS ON YEAR-LONG PROJECTS, TO PROVIDE EACH OTHER FEEDBACK ON INDIVIDUAL REGIONAL PROJECTS, TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES, AND TO LEARN ABOUT RESULTS OF CLINICAL TRIALS.IMWGIN APRIL 2006, AIM FORMED THE INTERNATIONAL MELANOMA WORKING GROUP (IMWG). THE IMWG IS BASED ON THE PREMISE THAT MELANOMA REQUIRES A FOCUSED, MULTI-DISCIPLINARY EFFORT AMONG THE WORLD'S LEADING MELANOMA INVESTIGATORS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE FOR A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIOLOGY OF MELANOMA, TO ACCELERATE THE QUEST FOR MORE EFFECTIVE THERAPIES, AND EVENTUALLY TO DEVELOP A CURE FOR THE DISEASE. THE IMWG PROVIDES A THINK TANK ATMOSPHERE FOR THE WORLD'S LEADING MELANOMA EXPERTS TO GATHER AWAY FROM LARGE MEETINGS. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, IMWG HAS UNDERTAKEN SEVERAL KEY PROJECTS AS A RESULT OF COLLABORATION AMONG ITS MEMBERS AND CONTINUES TO WORK ON ADDITIONAL EFFORTS THAT WILL LEAD TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MORE EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR MELANOMA PATIENTS. IMWG MEMBERS, WHICH CONSIST OF MELANOMA EXPERTS FROM THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, MET IN PERSON IN THE SPRING 2024 AND THE FALL OF 2024. AMONG ITS ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2024, THE IWMG CONTINUED TO WORK ON ITS INTERNATIONAL CLINICAL TRIAL NETWORK. AIM HAS OPENED AN INTERNATIONAL MELANOMA TISSUE BANK OF ANNOTATED FRESH FROZEN PRIMARY MELANOMA TISSUE AT OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY'S KNIGHT CANCER INSTITUTE, CALIFORNIA PACIFIC MEDICAL CENTER, NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY'S ROBERT H. LURIE COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH CANCER INSTITUTE; THE PETER MACCALLUM CANCER CENTER AND ALFRED HOSPITAL IN MELBOURNE ARE SIGNED ON TO PARTICIPATE BUT HAVE NOT BEGUN COLLECTING TISSUE. THE TISSUE BANK IS THE FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH TOOL THAT DOES NOT EXIST YET FOR PUBLIC OR PRIVATE RESEARCH. MAJOR ADVANCES, PARTICULARLY WITHIN BREAST AND PROSTATE CANCER, RESULTED FROM SIMILAR BANKS. CONSEQUENTLY, MELANOMA RESEARCH LAGS SIGNIFICANTLY BEHIND THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE IN OTHER CANCER RESEARCH. IN 2024, THE BANK COLLECTED A TOTAL OF 44 TISSUES FROM ALL 4 U.S. SITES AND CONTINUED ITS EFFORT TO START COLLECTING TISSUE AT ITS AUSTRALIAN SITES.WIMIN AUGUST 2017, AIM FORMED WOMEN IN MELANOMA (WIM). WITH A GROWING NUMBER OF YOUNG WOMEN ONCOLOGISTS WITH AN INTEREST IN MELANOMA, AND AIM'S PROVEN TRACK RECORD FOR BRINGING TOGETHER MELANOMA EXPERTS, AIM FORMED WIM FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUPPORTING THE IMPROVEMENT OF MELANOMA PATIENT OUTCOMES THROUGH A FOCUS ON STRENGTHENING THE PHYSICIAN-PATIENT RELATIONSHIP, PROVIDING INSIGHTS INTO BEST PRACTICES IN COMMUNICATING WITH PATIENTS WITH MELANOMA TO IMPROVE OUTCOME, SUPPORTING THE ACADEMIC CAREERS OF YOUNG WOMEN WITH A RESEARCH INTEREST IN MELANOMA, AND FOSTERING MENTORING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG WOMEN ONCOLOGISTS WORKING IN THE FIELD OF MELANOMA. IN 2024, AIM HELD ITS EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING IN LEESBURG, VA WHICH WAS ATTENDED BY UP-AND-COMING WOMEN ONCOLOGISTS, WITH A FOCUS ON MELANOMA. SINCE ITS INCEPTION, WIM MEMBERS HAVE SINCE UNDERTAKEN KEY RESEARCH PROJECTS AS A RESULT OF COLLABORATION AMONG ITS MEMBERS AT WIM MEETINGS.