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Sunday 17 September, 2023 was one of those sunshiney, picture-postcard Sydney mornings you only read about, but which us Sydney-siders can take for granted.

It was also the day the Neil Evans Melanoma Foundation officially launched its Beat Melanoma baby into the community.

I’ve walked this path many times. Having lived in Sydney and this amazing country almost my entire life, I feel so grateful to have this magical slice of paradise right on my doorstep. Neil loved this part of Sydney. He loved the beach and the great outdoors, and would use any excuse possible to wear his thongs (flip flops)…once even arguing why he couldn’t wear them to meet my family for the first time on Christmas Day!

Like most of us, Neil was very careful when in the sun. Growing up in the UK meant he had fair skin and would always use the highest-strength sunscreen when in the sun.

Neil was young, fun, and in the prime of his life, having worked hard to build a successful career and a quality life. Now it was time to reap the rewards. We vowed to share that life together.

Neil loved nothing more than spending fun times with his family and friends. He had a great sense of adventure and was the bloke you’d want to have a beer with at the footy or cricket.

But then one day – life changed.

It started small; a mole on his belly button that he’d had since birth started to change. He didn’t think much of it at first, but as someone who wasn’t careless, he did check it out with his GP, who told him it was nothing more than an infection and gave him a topical treatment to try.

A month later, it had changed again, in color and shape. The ointment he’d been prescribed wasn’t working. So again, he went to the doctor, and the doctor prescribed him another cream.

Two months later, after a summer holiday in Mexico and Cuba, Neil’s mole had gotten so big that he was referred to a specialist who advised that it should removed.

Little did we know, Neil’s mole was a highly-aggressive melanoma.

Months of treatments and trials followed yet sadly, none of them worked, and more melanoma appeared.

Eventually, Neil’s oncologist recommended a drug that wasn’t yet on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). The drug cost a staggering $AU20,000 a month to access. Just as remarkable was that Neil, who was always so careful all his life with his money, actually had the means to pay this! We are acutely aware that very few people are this fortunate.

Neil and I often spoke about how crazy it was that patients suffering from melanoma, one of the five most common cancers in Australia, had to pay this amount – any amount – to access treatments and trials. Our lifestyle and climate leave us so very vulnerable to this disease.

He was on that drug for a whole year, during which he was cancer-free; the only period, in fact, he was ‘cancer-free’ in the 4+ years since his diagnosis. That drug gave us hope, it gave us time, it gave us strength to fight the disease, and most of all, it allowed us to enjoy many wonderful experiences of travel and adventures with our family and friends, experiences that we know money just can’t buy.

Sadly, Neil didn’t make it.

But his hope and wishes remain alive and strong today – to help remove financial barriers to treatment and help anyone suffering from melanoma to beat their disease.

That is what the launch of Beat Melanoma means to me, both as Neil’s partner and as founder of the Foundation; to give every Aussie a chance to survive.

The Foundation has already helped so many people.

I think of 21-year-old Martina Duleska, whose life was turned around with access to a non-PBS drug to manage a severe side effect from her treatment for Stage III melanoma. Or the patient we helped access psychiatric care following their late-stage melanoma diagnosis. We’ve funded clinical trial infusions for two patients, and supported with accommodation and transport for another receiving treatment at GenesisCare at the Mater in Sydney. The list goes on.

We should all be able to enjoy this amazing country without fear or favour, and that is what Neil’s Foundation, together with his army of supporters, is striving to achieve.

Thank you to everyone who was able to join the launch in person, and to all those others who joined us in spirit from all over the world. Let’s keep this fight going, joining with others to continue to raise awareness in your own communities!

Or make a donation today.

Best wishes,

Sonia Nazaretian
Founder, Neil Evans Melanoma Foundation