Member Story – Ronald Newburger
This is the member story for Ronald Newburger. My name is Ron Newburger. I live in Grayslake, Illinois, and will be 66 on 11/13/2008. I am married, with 3 children (all grown) and five grandchildren. [...]
NCCN task force takes strong stand in genotyping debate
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) GIST task force, including GIST experts in oncology, surgery, pathology and research from around the world, met in December of 2006. In July, The Journal of the National Comprehensive [...]
GIST Member Story – Carolina Williams
When she was diagnosed in January 2006, Carolina couldn’t believe that her “benign tumor” was in fact, cancer. “I was in denial honestly. I think it took me about a month when it started hitting me. My mom was doing all the research for me. I didn’t realize what it was. When I came to my appointment with my oncologist and saw people doing chemo it first hit me. I was like, ‘Okay, oh my God.’”
GIST Member Story – Katharine Kimball
My journey with GIST is a long haul that has taken me from Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra, Australia to San Antonio, Texas. It is a journey that began in October 2002 when I found a rather large mass in my abdomen and was concerned enough that I phoned my GP for an appointment. When she felt the mass, she immediately made an appointment for a CT scan. I had the scan done within an hour and then returned to my GP’s office. After consulting with her partner, she informed me that they thought I had a lymphoma.
LRG signs the Bad Nauheim Declaration in Germany
During the weekend of June 30, 2007, representatives of the worldwide GIST community convened in Frankfurt, Germany for the Patient Summit meeting. An important outcome of these deliberations is the "Bad Nauheim Declaration", a statement regarding minimum standards for the treatment of patients with GIST.
KIT and PDGFRA Mutations in GIST: A to Z
This is part one of a two-part series on “KIT and PDGFRA kinase mutations in GIST: from A to Z”. In this newsletter, Dr. Heinrich will provide a background on the role of kinase mutations in GIST, focusing largely on the biological and clinical implications of these mutations. In part two (which will be featured in the July 2007 edition of the newsletter, following the special “Five-year anniversary” edition),
GIST Member Story – Becky Harper
Becky Harper always knew she wanted to be a teacher. “I think you have to be called to it. You have to have a passion to be with kids, and you do a lot of giving.” And she did give—22 years to be exact. She taught every first grader who came through her class until 1996 when she was told she had cancer.
Member Story – Estelle Lecointe
Life Rafter and president of Association Française des Patients du GIST: Ensemble contre le GIST, Estelle Lecointe attended Président Jacques Chirac’s speech on cancer at the French Presidential Palace “l’Elysée” on March 27. “There were a lot of journalists there. Some of them knew me as they had already seen the billboards with my picture, or previously interviewed me for magazines or radio, some of them had seen me on TV and just wanted to meet me. The fact that they remembered my face makes me think they now know my story and will then remember GIST too,” says Lecointe.
GIST Research – Correlation of Target Kinase Genotype with Clinical Activity of Imatnib Mesylate in KIT Patients
GIST patients with a particular genetic mutation are more likely to respond to Gleevec than those without the mutation, reported Dr. Michael C. Heinrich at one of the plenary sessions of the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held May 14-17 in Orlando, Florida.
Looking for Kinase Mutations in GISTs
This is the second of a two-part series on KIT and PDGFRA mutations in GISTs, written collaboratively by Drs. Michael Heinrich and Christopher Corless, LRG research team members. Please refer to the May issue of our newsletter for the first part titled, “KIT & PDGFRA mutations in GIST: A to Z” by Dr. Heinrich.