I have gladly volunteered to become part of an online experiment of sorts.
Priya Menon, Scientific Media Editor at CureTalk, has invited me to be part of an ongoing series of call-in panel discussions, featuring top myeloma experts, bloggers and activists.
The first program aired a few weeks back. It featured Dr. Vij Raj, and seven myeloma patients and caregivers discussing a wide variety of topics.
Here’s a link if you would like to listen to that program:
Listen to previous Myeloma Cure Panel broadcast here
Sound quality wasn’t the best, but some interesting points were made, prompting online discussions about cure vs control, Total Therapy and tandem transplants.
The second Myeloma Cure Panel will air tomorrow, September 25th at 4:30 EST.
The featured speaker will be Dr. Parameswaran Hari, Clinical Director of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Program and Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology, and Oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Dr. Hari was selected to contribute because his Milwaukee area cancer center has the best overall survival (OS) rate of any in the United States!
Fellow blogger, Gary Peterson, discovered Dr. Parameswaran’s program while conducting his ongoing quest to quantify and list OS stats for every location that specializes in treating multiple myeloma.
Link to Gary’s Myeloma Survival Blog
I will be on the panel, along with Lori Puente, Keith Virgin, and Matt Goldman.
The topic of discussion on Cure Panel this week:
Multiple Myeloma Disease Progression and its treatment. – A discussion of relapsed, refractory, and high-risk myeloma and the best plans for treatment.
All myeloma patients/caregivers/bloggers are welcome to Dial-In, listen to the panel discussion, and ask questions to the expert/panelists.
For registration and dial-in details mail Priya@trialx.com
Participation is limited to 50 callers. I understand that there are still a dozen or so spots left.
Interactive phone and online programs like this are new. But it is an exciting concept. You can ask questions of the featured speaker, other panelists and/or each other! You can also participate using phone or computer–although it works best to use a phone if you plan to ask questions.
I know that I learn a lot on these calls! Here is Cure Talk’s promo that they sent me today:
DIAL-In and listen to Dr. Parameswaran Hari, discuss Disease Progression and Treatments with Gary Petersen, Pat Killingsworth, Lori Puente, Keith Virgin, and Matt Goldman.
Click here to register for the Myeloma Cure Panel on Tuesday, 25 September 2012 @ 4:30 pm EST.
Do not miss an opportunity to ask your myeloma questions to a Myeloma Specialist!
Register NOW!
Hope to hear from you tomorrow. Feel good and keep smiling! Pat
September 25th, 2012 at 10:16 am
Thought this was an interesting piece sent to me from my brother who lives just outside of Boston…..
http://www.myelomabeacon.com/news/2011/02/28/thought-leader-perspective-dr-kenneth-anderson-on-the-future-of-multiple-myeloma-treatment/
Hope it’s helpful!
September 25th, 2012 at 12:16 pm
Thanks, Jane!
September 25th, 2012 at 8:41 pm
Pat as always, thank you for your participation on the panel. It was great to hear from Dr. Hari that 15% of patients are currently cured, and that he sees a 40% cure rate in the future. I look forward to begin on the panel in October when you are the co-host. Gary Petersen
September 25th, 2012 at 11:04 pm
Thanks Pat for supporting the Myeloma Cure Panel by posting information about it and being a panelist.
We look forward to you hosting the panel next month
September 25th, 2012 at 11:05 pm
I thought Dr. Hari was really impressive! You did a great job, Gary!
September 26th, 2012 at 8:36 am
My pleasure!
September 26th, 2012 at 11:11 am
Pat – will you let us know when Priya posts a link to this edition of Cure Panel? I definitely want to hear the discussion of cure rate.
September 26th, 2012 at 12:48 pm
She just did: http://trialx.com/curetalk/2012/09/listen-here-myeloma-cure-panel-talk-show-broadcast-with-dr-parameswaran-hari-as-myeloma-expert/
I will post it officially this weekend.
September 26th, 2012 at 3:00 pm
This is a great trend with the Myeloma Cure Talk panelists. The “cure rate” is going up 5% every month. At this rate it will be 75% at this time next year!!! We can all dream, right?
September 26th, 2012 at 6:13 pm
I don’t mind optimistic docs. Don’t let that discouraging OS rate of a whopping 44 months deter you! Yep, it has only gone up one month since I was diagnosed! No one talks about that! Good news (?) is myeloma patients are like citizens of this country. Unequal. Like financially well-off, younger, low risk patients face a much brighter future than the average 70 year old with two or three co-morbidities…