Tuesday, November 10, 2015

ASH Conference!

As usual, Christmas has come early this year:

The abstracts for this year's ASH conference are out. That's the American Society of Hematology, and it's perhaps the largest gathering of blood specialists in the country.

I took a quick look at the abstracts for Follicular Lymphoma, and it looks like there's some good stuff there.

The ASH conference usually involves presenting very early results from trials, or even pre-trial work. In other words, what gets presented is usually a few years away from showing up in the oncologist's office, if it shows up at all. But it does give a good sense of what's being worked on, and how likely we are to see some of those new treatments.

The conference happens December 5-8 in Orlando, Florida (a lovely place to be in December), and I would expect to see some Preview articles or videos just before the conference. These are great, because they give us a sense of what the experts are excited about. It would be nice to see some Follicular Lymphoma research being highlighted.

My plan, as usual, is to highlight and comment on the abstracts that seem exciting to me. I'll do my best to get to them soon.
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5 comments:

  1. Mark S.November 13, 2015 at 5:17 PM

    Bob -
    Just read the news that Missouri's football coach Gary Pinkel will step down at the end of the season. Earlier this year he was diagnosed with NHL and treated for it prior to the season. Whenever I see these "high-profile" cases in the news, I'm always curious as to the specifics (type, treatment, etc.). I know you touched on this larger issue of high profile cases recently with the passing of Sen. Fred Thompson. But I would be interested in any additional info you might find related to Coach Pinkel's situation.

    Thanks again for the information you share in your blog. It is much appreciated.

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  2. GinnyNovember 17, 2015 at 7:48 AM

    I just learned this morning that Gary Pinkel has follicular lymphoma. The Kansas City Star article on Pinkel has that information. I think you can just google it and find more information about his diagnosis last spring and his treatment post-diagnosis. He is doing well. I know I will be following his case closely because of our common diagnosis.

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  3. Mark S.November 17, 2015 at 3:17 PM

    Thanks Virginia.

    I did find the KC Star article covering Gary's recent press conference and which states he has Follicular Lymphoma.

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  4. LymphomaniacNovember 17, 2015 at 6:01 PM

    Virginia, thanks for responding to Mark. I have read some accounts of the press conference, and saw that he was diagnosed in May. Sounds like he already went to the Mayo Clinic in MN for treatment, but I haven't seen anything on what the treatment was or how he responded. It seems like his retirement isn't coming because he is physically unable to do the job, but more like the diagnosis made him do some rethinking of his priorities -- more time for golf and grandkids. I wish him luck. And I'll keep a look out for any more information about his treatment and prognosis. You all do the same.
    Bob

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  5. GinnyNovember 17, 2015 at 8:11 PM

    I tried to send Gary an email note today to tell him about Lympho Bob, but his old MU email address doesn't work. Since I am a former administrator in the MU system, I thought he might appreciate a tip from a colleague. (Smile). I'll keep trying to find a way to share the info about Lympho Bob so he knows that's a reliable source of information.

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