Samantha Guild (Text Version)

Title: Advancing research to end melanoma as we know it

Interview with Samantha Guild, President, Aim at Melanoma, Programmatic Panel Member

One of the amazing things about the congressional money that is given to melanoma research is that we have Servicemen and women who every day are out there on the lines serving this country, and as a result of their service, they are being exposed to UV radiation, which makes them at a higher risk for melanoma. And so, we are so appreciative of the fact that the Congress recognizes the importance of funding research that will end melanoma as we know it in our lifetime.

There are some challenges that we face with the program. Obviously, like other cancers, we could certainly use more funding to do it, which is understandable. There's lots of cancers out there and there's just a lot of unmet needs in the cancer community, particularly with melanoma.

One of the challenges specifically for us is, is that there's so many unknowns out there when it comes to melanoma. And there is the issue of prevention. There's issues of progression. How do we treat it? And so it’s hard to figure out where do we put our focus in as far as research, because there are so many unmet needs and so many questions that need to be answered.

For someone who is applying, what I am looking for as an advocate is, are you addressing an unmet need that the patient community is so desperately trying to meet? So, what scientists are looking for, who are on the committee, are probably different. But for the advocates I'm looking to see are you addressing an unmet need that's going to give patients the biggest impact in their treatment.

As the year goes forward and we are reviewing applications, we have an opportunity again to share our background and our information and to hopefully meet the needs of the DOD funding that's being requested of us.

As an advocate, it would be nice to know if I was out of a job, or at least if, you know, if I was helping to support patients, I knew that I would be working with patients and families where the ending is not going to be a poor prognosis. Again, we're all very passionate. We all want to see an end to this disease, and I really do think that that's going to bring us to a point where we're going to bring an end to melanoma as we know it.