Our world has certainly changed in 2020. Not just our myeloma world, but the entire world has been affected by the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. There is good news for both challenges. There were 688 myeloma abstracts at ASH 2020 (179 orals / 500 posters / 9 publications). While this was less than in years past, it is still much […]
In December, 2012 I attended my first annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (#ASH12) with the International Myeloma Foundation. The meeting was held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. I had no idea on what to expect when I entered the convention center for the first time. I was walking around […]
As I write this, the USA has surpassed 3,100 COVID deaths in one day. This horrendous reality now means more Americans die each day than were lost on 9/11/2001. Many more of us die each day than Dec 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor day. We now sadly lose nearly the same number of dead Americans every […]
This year’s ASH, as we all know, has been very different, thanks to Covid-19. We’ve missed lots of things by not being physically together; however, there are always silver linings! I’m mostly grateful to the resilient researchers, hematologists/oncologists, nurses, and pharmaceutical companies that have keep research going through this pandemic. While there were fewer abstracts at ASH this […]
#ASH20 was fully virtual due to the pandemic. #ASH21 will be a hybrid of virtual and in-person meetings by choice. At least that is my hope and prediction. The virtual format allowed us to log from the comfort of our home and we were at the mercy of the WIFI and not an overflowing meeting […]
The 62nd annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) does not officially start until 12.4.2020. However, the multiple myeloma experts are always ahead of the curve, having the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) “breakfast” meeting 12.2.2020. This year, the meeting was again led by Dr. Brian Durie and Dr. Vincent Rajkumar. The International […]
Today is effectively the final day of ASH but it was still full of information, and to be honest, I’m a bit brain-fried. However, the day was broken up with the opportunity to meet with several Pharma companies: Takeda (Velcade, Ninlaro), who discussed their new Patient Advocacy Liaisons (Oncology Nurses) who will offer presentations to […]
Several sessions have been presented at the 2020 American Society of Hematology’s Annual Meeting, highlighting research data and findings specifically related to myeloma novel targeting agents. There were 2 terms, off-the-shelf and Allogeneic CAR, referred to many times yesterday during immunotherapy sessions. While I felt I understand the context of the discussions, I was immediately […]
In our Support Group Leader team discussion, the subject of T-Cells came up, naturally, with the many abstracts focusing on Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cell (CAR-T) therapy at the 62nd Annual American Society (ASH) meeting. What was appreciated is that there are many types of T-Cells, and people wanting to know more about their function. To […]
The International Myeloma Foundation Social Media team has been active even though this year’s American Society of Hematology meeting is taking place virtually. Not only attending session virtually and engaging with researchers, clinicians, pharmaceutical representatives, and others; but also, coming together for virtual debriefs and virtual recharge. I miss seeing these myeloma friends in person, […]
