More than 150 physicians and patients gathered February 6th and 7th to learn more about melanoma. Melanoma Patient Day, February 6, was a half-day symposium sponsored by the Melanoma Research Foundation, the UNC Division of Surgical Oncology and the UNC Department of Dermatology. Meeting co-chairs were Drs. David Ollila, professor of surgery, and Nancy Thomas, Robert Alan and Irene Briggaman Distinguished Professor of Dermatology.
UNC speakers for the February 6th Patient Day symposium were: Drs. Ollila and Thomas, Dr. Fran Collichio, clinical professor of medicine; Dr. Puneet Jolly, clinical assistant professor of dermatology; Dr. Carrie Lee, assistant professor of medicine; and Dr. Rachel Aufforth, a fellow in the Department of Surgery. Guest speakers were Dr. Anne Cust, associate professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Sydney in Sydney, Australia, and Dr. Tiina Jahkola, associate professor in the department of plastic surgery at the Helsinki University Central Hospital in Helsinki Finland. Participants also heard from Courtney and Captain Kirk Henry who offered “one family’s perspective on melanoma.”
The Eighth Annual UNC Conference on Melanoma: A Multidisciplinary Perspective was held on February 7th. This CME session was sponsored by the UNC Department of Dermatology, the UNC Department of Surgery’s Division of Surgical Oncology, and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in partnership with the Greensboro Area Health Education Center. Course directors were Drs. David Ollila and Nancy Thomas.
Three named lectures were delivered at the conference. Dr. Anne Cust delivered the Millis-Copeland Endowed Melanoma Lecture titled “ Banning Indoor Tanning in Australia: The Scientific Evidence and Influencing Government Policy.” Dr. Martin Weinstock, professor of dermatology at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, delivered the Ned Austell Memorial Melanoma Lecture from Tom and Diana Hudgens titled “ Public Health Science Will Cut Melanoma Deaths in half.” Dr. Jahkola delivered the H. Douglas Sessoms Memorial Melanoma Lecture titled “European Perspective on Melanoma Treatment.”