National Distribution of 100,000 1^st Edition Copies to Patients & Caregivers

WESTMINSTER, Md. and OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Jan. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation (JMNMF) and Patient Resource LLC, announce the 1^st edition release of their new, Patient Resource™ Cancer Guide: Melanoma, available as a free 24-pg. comprehensive guide for newly diagnosed and advanced melanoma patients, and their caregivers. The Guide's distribution is underway across the U.S. through physicians, medical centers, oncology nurses, social workers, patient groups and by the two advocacy organizations directly. 

More than a million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year and melanoma, the most serious and lethal form of skin cancer, accounts for ~75% of all skin cancer deaths.  An estimated 76,250 new cases were diagnosed in the U.S. in 2012 and, similarly striking 1 in 50 men and women will be diagnosed with melanoma during their lifetime.  Melanoma skin cancer is the #1 most common cancer for young adults, ages 25-29.

This patient-friendly melanoma resource is organized in straightforward, important areas, including:

• Overview of Melanoma
• Staging of Melanoma
• Your Pathology Report
• Surgical Treatment of Melanoma
• Using Lymph Node Mapping to Guide Treatment
• Treatment of Early-Stage Melanoma
• Treatment of Later-Stage & Advanced Melanoma
• Follow-up Care
• The Value of Clinical Trials
• Living Life During and After Treatment
• Survivor Stories
• Melanoma Advocacy & Support Resources
• Financial Assistance
• Personal Medical Journal
  

The JMNMF and Patient Resource, LLC also proudly recognize the Guide's Medical Reviewers, who unselfishly provided active input, topical content and editorial review; and, through their extensive expertise and professionalism contributed significantly to the publication, as follows:

Charles M. Balch, MD, FACS
Editor-in-Chief, Patient Resource LLC
Editor-in-Chief, The Annals of Surgical Oncology

Rhoda M. Alani, MD
Dermatologist-in-Chief, Boston University School of Medicine
Boston Medical Center

John Kirkwood, MD
Co-leader – UPCI Melanoma Program
University of Pittsburgh

John Thompson, MD, FRACS, FACS
Executive Director, Melanoma Institute, Australia
Chairman, Australian & New Zealand Melanoma Trials Group

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD
Director, Immunotherapy Clinical Trials, Dept. of Medicine
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

The Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation and Patient Resource LLC, also thank our corporate grantors for their unrestricted educational grants:

• Amgen, Inc.
• Genentech, Inc. A Member of the Roche Group
• Merck & Co., Inc.
• Prometheus Laboratories Inc.

To order individual or multiple complimentary copies of the Patient Resource™ Cancer Guide: Melanoma, contact JMNMF directly at (410) 857-4890; or email: contact@melanomaresource.org; or, visit Patient Resource LLC's online order site.

JMNMF CONTACT:    
Gregory Safko                                                           
President                                                        
Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation    
(410) 857-4890                                              
gsafko@melanomaresource.org                      
www.melanomaresource.org 

PATIENT RESOURCE™ CONTACT:
Linette Atwood
Publisher
Patient Resource LLC
(913) 626-9758
latwood@patientresource.com
www.patientresource.com

SOURCE Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation