Life Raft Group Canada held its third successful annual general meeting (AGM) on November 5 in the West Coast city of Vancouver, British Columbia. The event began with a talk by Dr. Cheng-han Lee of the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at Vancouver General Hospital and University of British Columbia.
By Jim Hughes, LRG Clinical Trials Coordinator, and Pete Knox, LRG Special Projects Coordinator The 2011 Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) conference was held in late October this year in Chicago. If the meeting had a GIST [...]
One of the highlights of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference was the session “Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors: Multimodal Approach.” George Demetri M.D. began the discussion with a review of the history and biology of GIST. Dr. Demetri reviewed the current status of GIST and brought up some new challenges ahead.
Mutational testing determines whether you have a mutation present in your tumor, and what genotype it is. Examples include Exon 11 or 9 (for KIT positive tumors), Platelet Driven Growth Factor Receptor Alpha (PDGFRA), or [...]
We are proud to inform you that Asociación GIST Argentina (AGA) is finally an official, legal organization, which allows us to receive funds to run the association. This is crucial for AGA's future because it will allow [...]
Shortly after being diagnosed with GIST in 2003, Dina Wiley was referred to the Life Raft Group, where she found essential support and vital information. Once she was put in touch with Floyd Pothoven, LRG’s [...]
I think it's important to give back and hopefully as a Texas Rep. for GIST I'll be able to help others. When I was first diagnosed with GIST, it was the most stressful period in [...]
Many cancer patients around the world have poor access to cancer therapy, especially in parts of Latin America. For those who cannot afford or access the original branded medicine, they are left with alternative options. Those medicines may be less safe, of lesser quality, or not produce the desired therapeutic effect as the original counterpart. Thus, patients’ lives are at risk.
It was a foggy autumn Saturday morning, September 24th, 2011, when my husband and I drove to the annual GIST Contact Day. From all parts of our country as well as from Belgium, and countries like Germany and Portugal, Dutch speaking members were on their way to celebrate life with each other.
The United States Social Security Administration (SSA) pays disability benefits to people who cannot work because they have a medical condition that is expected to last at least one year or result in death. Federal law requires this very strict definition of disability. While some programs give money to people with partial disability or short-term disability, Social Security does not.
