September 12, 2017

Friends,

We hope everyone who has been affected by the recent hurricanes is safe and on their way to being dry and home again (with power!) Our thoughts are with you.

As September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month and Friday is World Lymphoma Awareness Day, this week we’ve posted an article that explains the basics of CAR-T therapy. You may have seen this in the news recently when the first FDA approval was announced for use in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but know that research is ongoing for CLL too. You can read my article here.

CLL Patient Support Group Meetings Coming Up

Tuesday, September 12^th at 7:00 PM in Orange, CA – The Orange County CLL Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society, will be meeting. More information here.

Friday, September 15^th at 10:00 AM in Montreal, Canada – Montreal CLL Support Group – Groupe de soutien de la LLC de Montréal, co-sponsored by Lymphoma Canada and the CLL Society, will be meeting. More information here.

Saturday, September 16^th at 3:00 PM in Vienna, VA – The Washington DC-area CLL Patient Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society, will be meeting. More information here.

Sunday, September 17^th at 12 Noon in Albany, NY – The CLL Support Group of Albany (NY) will have their quarterly meeting. More information here.

Sunday, September 17^th at 4:00 PM in San Francisco, CA – The San Francisco CLL Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society, will be meeting. More information here.

Monday, September 18^th at 7:00 PM in Duarte, CA – The City of Hope CLL Support Group, sponsored by the CLL Society, will be meeting. More information here.

ALSO – We are actively forming CLL-specific support groups in a number of cities across the country. There has been recent interest in forming support groups in the following cities: Raleigh, NC, Cincinnati, OH, Dallas, TX, Syracuse, NY, Nashville, TN, Hartford, CT, Greensboro NC and Central Massachusetts. Complete the interest survey and let’s see if we can get one going! See what other cities are looking to form support groups by clicking here. Not listed, but interested in starting one? Email us at support@cllsociety.org Thanks!

CLL Patient Education Meetings

CLL Society Sponsored Meetings

Saturday, September 16^th from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM in Salt Lake City, UT – In partnership with the Huntsman Cancer Institute and the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the CLL Society invites you to attend our informational CLL Patient Education Forum. Featured speakers include Deborah Stephens, DO, John Sweetenham, MD, Katie Barker, RD, CD from Huntsman, Ben Fogel representing LLS, and Brian Koffman, MD and Terry Evans from the CLL Society. Due to an overwhelming response, registration is now closed. We look forward to seeing you there.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Sponsored Meetings

Saturday, September 23^rd from 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM in Milwaukee, WI – LLS will be hosting Wisconsin Blood Cancer Conference being held at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee in Milwaukee, WI. A breakout session on CLL will be held featuring Farrukh T. Awan, MD, MS from Ohio State University. This event is free, but registration is required. To find out more information and to register, click here.

Lymphoma Research Foundation Sponsored Meetings

LRF will be hosting Ask the Doctor: Updates on Lymphoma and Treatment Options meetings in Baltimore on September 13^th at 6 PM , in Pasadena, CA on October 5^th at 6 PM, and in Houston on November 16^th at 6 PM (NOTE NEW DATE). The meetings are free, but registration is required. Dinner will be provided to all registered attendees. Click the link for your city for more information and to register.

Lymphoma Canada Sponsored Meeting

Lymphoma Canada will be hosting their first National Conference on Lymphoma September 15-16 starting at 1:00 PM in Montreal, Canada. This event is free, but spaces are limited and registration is required. Find out more information and register here.

In the meantime….

Stay strong.

We are all in this together.

Brian Koffman, MD