A town hall will be held live online April 18, 2020 to offer information about myeloma and other blood-related diseases and the significance of genetic profiling, imaging and getting involved with developing research.
The free event will be held 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Central and is presented by the UAMS Myeloma Center and Patient Power. To register, visit www.patientpower.info/apr18. Registrants will receive a confirmation email with details for joining the program at the scheduled time
“The UAMS Myeloma Center is one of the foremost centers in the world,” said Andrew Schorr, who founded Patient Power with his wife, Esther. “We are honored to work with the Myeloma Center for a third time and bring myeloma patients everywhere the latest information to help them live long and live better.”
“Creating Your Own Myeloma Roadmap: From Diagnosis to Survivorship” was originally scheduled to be held both in person and online, but will be held through a Zoom live stream to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “We are thrilled to be once again partnering with Patient Power,” said Frits van Rhee, M.D., Ph.D., clinical director of the UAMS Myeloma Center.
The event will include an overview of myeloma and topics such as working as a team with your doctor, current and future treatment options, the advantages of participating in clinical trials, and guidance on securing financial, educational and emotional support. The event will conclude with a 30-minute question and answer session. Those wishing to ask specific questions can submit them in advance to myeloma@patientpower.info or use the Q&A feature on Zoom during the program.
Panel experts from the UAMS Myeloma Center include Frits van Rhee, M.D., Ph.D., clinical director of the UAMS Myeloma Center, and Guido Tricot, M.D., Ph.D. Van Rhee is an internationally recognized specialist in immunotherapy for myeloma, Castleman Disease, and POEMS Syndrome.
Tricot, originally with the Myeloma Center from 2001 to 2007, recently returned to UAMS where he earlier, with colleagues, pioneered induction chemotherapy treatment of using anti-myeloma drugs before high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant, which increased the median survival rate for newly diagnosed patients from 2 ½ years to 10 or more.
Shebli Atrash, M.D., hematologist/oncologist with Levine Cancer Institute at Atrium Health’s Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, will join van Rhee and Tricot on the panel. Others from the Myeloma Center include advanced practice nurse Nadine Baxter and social work program manager Harold Dean, LCSW.
Maddie Hunter of Philadelphia, an 18-year survivor and leader of the Philadelphia Multiple Myeloma Networking Group, will serve as host. Patients and caregivers serving on the panel include patient Lyndell Worthen of Conway, a 74-year-old retired minister diagnosed with myeloma in 2010; his wife, Mary; and Cindy Chmielewski of New Jersey, a retired teacher diagnosed in 2008 who has since become a patient advocate and mentor.