This year marks Melanoma Patients Australia’s first as a Dry July beneficiary, and I am proud to share why this partnership is so important to the people we support.

Each year, more than 18,000 Australians are diagnosed with melanoma. For many, the diagnosis is sudden and overwhelming, bringing fear, uncertainty and a pressing need for clear, trustworthy information about what comes next.

Access to the right information at the right time can be life changing. Funds raised through Dry July will directly support our patient education and trusted resources. These are central to our national support programs and our mission to ensure that no one affected by melanoma walks alone.

Through our education programs and resources, our specialist melanoma nurses guide patients and families from the moment of diagnosis, through treatment, and into life with and beyond melanoma. We support people to understand complex medical information, feel prepared for appointments, manage side effects, and cope with the emotional toll of melanoma, wherever they live in Australia.

For Ingrid, who is living with melanoma and volunteers as a Melanoma Patients Australia Support Group Facilitator, this support has been vital.

“The support from Melanoma Patients Australia has played a significant role in my journey,” Ingrid says. “I strongly encourage anyone living with melanoma to make use of the services and their resources, which are so thorough and deeply supportive.”

Stories like Ingrid’s remind us just how critical these resources are. Without the generosity of supporters and partners like Dry July, Melanoma Patients Australia simply would not be able to provide the education programs, nurse support and evidence based resources that patients rely on at some of the most vulnerable times in their lives.

The demand for melanoma specific education continues to grow.

Dry July funds will contribute to our patient education initiatives, so that more individuals, including people like Ingrid, can feel informed, supported and cared for through each phase of their melanoma experience.

By taking part in Dry July, you are helping to ensure that no one affected by melanoma has to face their diagnosis without support, understanding or hope.

Shannon Anderson

Chief Executive Officer

Melanoma Patients Australia