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About Us

The Neil Evans Melanoma Foundation (NEMF) is an Australian registered charity dedicated to raising funds to directly support advanced stage melanoma patients to access treatments and clinical trials and assist with transport, accommodation, and other costs during their treatment journeys.

NEMF was launched in December 2021 following Neil Evans’ passing in June after a long battle with melanoma. Neil’s final wish was ‘to give people with melanoma every chance to beat their cancer, without financial barriers.’

Funds are allocated and distributed in association with Melanoma Australia Institute, whose mission is ‘zero deaths from melanoma this decade’.

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A message from Melanoma Institute Australia

“I met Neil on 6 December 2017 when he came to see me at Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA). Days like that I never forget – a young 44 year old man at the prime of his life, diagnosed with what we called Stage III melanoma. It had not spread beyond a nearby lymph node from the primary skin site, but there were features of the melanoma that, as his Medical Oncologist, gave me great cause for concern.

It was aggressive under the microscope.

Our goal together was to eradicate the melanoma early with a state of the art clinical ‘combined immunotherapy’ trial. This drug therapy has been a ‘penicillin moment’ in the history of cancer treatment. But, for all the success we have had in our research into and eradication of melanoma, in approximately 30% of people, it has very little or no impact.

This is where our team at MIA has focussed our energies; and not just in the clinic and clinical trials, but also in the laboratory. Regrettably, too, this 30% tend to be young, fit, and in the prime of their lives.

Melanoma does not discriminate, and it is the most common cancer in young people in Australia.

Neil spent the next three and a half years under my care at MIA, with his partner Sonia at his side. Neil explored every possible option. He was resilient. He was persistent. He quite rightly and appropriately approached this as a problem that would be solved. Our whole team worked with Neil and Sonia tirelessly towards that very same goal. Neil’s attitude inspired us all. It continues to inspire us now.

Occasionally, Neil paid thousands of dollars to access a drug that had not yet been approved for melanoma but had some clinical trial data in humans to show it had a chance of working. Unfortunately this is not an option for every Australian and Neil was well aware of this.

On several occasions he had remarked how fortunate he felt that he was able to access novel drug treatments because he had the resources. It was incredibly inspiring when Neil said he wanted to raise money to give patients who cannot afford it access to expensive novel drug treatments.

Although the drugs may not have worked in him, Neil was hopeful that someone down the track in his position may actually benefit. At MIA, our mission is a simple one – zero deaths from melanoma.

The Neil Evans Melanoma Foundation will be an important part of this journey.

Professor Georgina Long, AO
Co-Medical Director, Melanoma Institute Australia