Working with MIA ensures their expert knowledge and assessment guides the right funds to right type of support to maximise positive outcomes for patients.
Patient Fund
The Neil Evans Melanoma Foundation (NEMF) Patient Fund is the first of its kind in Australia, directly supporting advanced stage melanoma patients to access treatments, trials, and other vital services.
How are funds distributed?
Funds are distributed in partnership with Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) to support patients in four key areas:
Treatment Access
Access to potentially life-saving treatments that may otherwise not be available on the PBS or via clinical trials.
Travel
Travel to clinical trials or treatment, which can present particular challenges for rural and regional patients.
Accommodation
Accommodation during clinical trials or periods of hospital admission for patients, family members and/or carers.
Support
Access to psychological support after diagnosis and throughout a patient’s melanoma journey.
Patient fund making waves
Since the Patient Fund was launched in December 2021, it has:
- Contributed to psychiatric care for one patient following their late-stage melanoma diagnosis
- Funded clinical trial infusions for two more patients
- Supported with accommodation and transport for a patient receiving treatment at GenesisCare at the Mater Hospital in North Sydney
- Contributed towards medication for a patient who had exhausted their PBS allocation
- Provided access to life-changing colitis medication for one young patient following debilitating side effects of immunotherapy
Help make an impact today!
Patient story
”I became a recluse and I felt totally incapacitated. I just wanted it all to stop.
Martina DuleskaWollongong, NSW
Thanks to the support of the Neil Evans Melanoma Foundation, 21-year-old Martina Duleska’s life was turned around with access to a non-PBS drug to manage a severe side effect from her treatment for Stage III melanoma.
