Latest Myeloma News

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	Unable to Qualify for a Clinical Trial? Learn About Compassionate Use Treatment Access  If patients do not meet the eligibility criteria for certain clinical trials, they and their doctors can request access to investigational therapies. These therapies are available through a national program called single-patient expanded access, also known as compassionate use. The FDA, in partnership with advocacy organizations and the pharmaceutical industry has created The Expanded Access Navigator, a website that provides a roadmap to guide patients, caregivers, and physicians through the request process. Learn more HERE.
	Saving Butterflies in L.A., Tweaking the Immune System in the Lab, and Looking to the Future in China Concerned that monarch butterflies are vanishing due to the disappearance of milkweed, their essential food, a Los Angeles myeloma patient planted milkweed. A pregnant female monarch arrived, and soon, a new generation of monarchs was born.  “This is the kind of beautiful nurturing necessary to restore the balance of nature,” says IMF Chairman Dr. Brian Durie. In other good news this week, he reports that US researchers are learning why cancer cells become resistant to immunotherapy, and notes that Chinese myeloma research is growing. Read Dr. Durie’s blog.
	New Clinical Trial for Patients with Solitary Plasmacytoma of Bone  The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, a national clinical trials network supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is sponsoring a clinical trial for patients with solitary plasmacytoma of bone (SPB). To learn more about SPB, this new clinical trial, and how you can register for it, click HERE.
	Register NOW for the IMF Regional Community Workshop in Kansas City The IMF Regional Community Workshop in Kansas City, Kansas, takes place on September 9th, 2017 from 9 AM CST to 3 PM CST. Registration is FREE, but seating is limited. The expert panel includes Craig Cole, MD (University of Michigan), Dr. Siddhartha Ganguly, MD, FACP (University of Kansas Cancer Center), Dr. Al-Ola Abdallah, MD (University of Kansas Cancer Center, Kansas City, KS) and a member of the IMF Nurse Leadership Board.
	Plan Your Summer FUNdraiser with the Help of the IMF Coming up this weekend is the Capt. Jim Turner Memorial Ocean Swim at 9 am ET on Sunday, August 13th, on the beach at 33rd Avenue in Longport, NJ. This event features a half-mile ocean swim and a surf dash for younger swimmers. If you would also like to plan a fun summer activity that raises myeloma awareness at the same time, contact Suzanne Battaglia, the IMF’s Director of Member Events. Suzanne can help you organize events that are as grand as an open ocean swim, or as intimate as a small wine tasting or backyard barbecue. Contact her with your ideas at sbattaglia@myeloma.org.
	Are there myeloma clinics or specialists who focus on "high-risk" myeloma patients? In this week’s video, Dr. Brian GM Durie explains why there is no precise treatment protocol for “high-risk” myeloma patients.

 

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