May 17, 2017

Friends,

I’ve just returned from the International Workshop on CLL in New York City. It was a great meeting and I saw many friends and the top researchers in CLL. On Saturday I hosted a Facebook Live meeting on the topic of genetic testing prior to treatment. Thank you for all who attended, submitted questions or cheered me on. If you didn’t get a chance to view it, you can access the archive at https://www.facebook.com/CLLsociety/

Flying across the country gives me time to think about lots of things as I endure long flights and unexpected delays. I started to think about my journey with CLL as I just passed the 5^th anniversary of the day I took my first dose of PCI-32765, now known as ibrutinib or Imbruvica. You can read about my personal story here.

CLL Patient Support Group Meetings This Week

Thursday, May 18^th at 6:30 PM in Belmont, NC – the Charlotte CLL Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society will be meeting. More information here.

Saturday, May 20^th at 1 PM in Dedham, MA – The Boston CLL Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society will be meeting. More information here.

Saturday, May 20^th at 3 PM in Vienna, VA – The Washington DC-area CLL Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society will be meeting. More information here.

Sunday, May 21^st at 4 PM in San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco-area CLL Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society will be meeting. More information here.

NEW CLL Patient Support Group Meetings

Tuesday, May 23rd at 7:00 PM in Berea, Ohio – the Northeast Ohio CLL Patient Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society, will be meeting for the FIRST time. More information here.

Thursday, May 25th at 6:45 PM in Denver, Colorado – the Denver CLL Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society will be meeting for the FIRST time. More information here.

ALSO – We are actively forming CLL-specific support group in a number of cities around the country. To see if your city is one of them, click here and select the interest survey for your city. JUST ADDED – Philadelphia, PA and New Brunswick, NJ. Not listed, but interested in starting one? Email us at support@cllsociety.org Thanks!

Upcoming Patient Education Meetings

• Wednesday, May 17^th from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM in Tampa, FL – FLASCO will be hosting a free Living with CLL Educational Dinner Program for patients and their caregiver at the Sheraton Suites Tampa Airport in Tampa for an evening of learning and sharing. Additionally, you can bring your questions to ask the experts in a relaxed dinner program setting. Registration is required. Find out more information here.
• Saturday, May 27^th from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM PT in Duarte, CA: The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will be hosting 2017 What Matters For Survivors Of Blood Cancers at the Cooper Auditorium at City of Hope in Duarte, California. Find out more information and register here.

In the meantime….

Stay strong.

We are all in this together.

Brian Koffman, MD