As we say goodbye to 2022, there is always the temptation to look back at what we have achieved over the year, and of course, we will do that.  But we will end by looking forward to 2023 and all that it holds in store. 

As ever, we have so many memories of the wonderful people that we have lost to melanoma over the last twelve months.  It is always so difficult to say goodbye to the people that have meant so very much to us and to many of our supporters.  Because we are such a small team, we get to know many of the patients and families and when we lose them, we share the sadness and sorrow.

During 2022 we welcomed a number of new medical advisors and ambassadors.  We can’t name them all individually because that would take too long and we’d be afraid of missing someone out.  Suffice to say, Melanoma UK is going into 2023 with an extremely strong team on board and we are so very grateful for the help and assistance of each and every one of them.  We have worked with some fabulous organisations over the year and again, if we mentioned them all, we would be here until February, so we will just say thank you to you all - you all know who you are and you know we are grateful for your support.

It would be very remiss of us if we didn’t make mention of some of the events that we have been privileged to be a part of, including the start of our annual national Mole Hunt campaign in May which kicked off in the North West. This event was truly amazing and highlighted the need for face-to-face skin checks, early intervention, and the use of AI technology with the SkinVision app.  Then we joined forces with Jewson Builders Merchants in supporting their ‘Hard Hat Your Skin’ campaign, to help protect builders from the dangers of skin cancer. In November we launched our sister site, Skin Cancer UK to address the needs of people with Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer (NMSC) in the UK.

These are just a few examples of the work we have been involved with, we have plenty more

Over the coming days, we know that many people will be struggling with the disease, the effects of treatment, or feeling the loss of loved ones, that empty chair is always so very hard to see.  If this is you, we wish you peace and please know that during the Christmas break, we will still be at the other end of a phone if you need us.   

We wish you and your loved ones a peaceful Christmas and new year.  

Thank you all for your support and your love.