Michigan Local Group Meeting a Success
We had a good turnout at the Michigan LRG meeting on Saturday. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of local group meetings.
We had a good turnout at the Michigan LRG meeting on Saturday. Keep reading to learn more about the importance of local group meetings.
Having your GISTory or medical summary up to date and handy when faced with a medical emergency, is crucial to have on hand, when making decisions on how to proceed with your care.
Life Raft Group, Canada has just issued Vol. 3, Issue 2, of its Newsletter. This issue is 8 pages in length, and features several interesting articles.
Radiation therapy has been revisited as an option in GIST treatment. Keep reading to learn more about the research that has gone into radiation therapy.
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals has launched a Phase 2 trial of Iclusig to treat GIST. Keep reading for all the details in the official press release.
During the past dozen years gastrointestinal stromal tumors have emerged from oncologic obscurity and reached center-stage in the development of targeted therapies for solid tumors. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) like imatinib, sunitinib, and more recently regorafenib, have proven effective in suppressing the growth of metastatic GIST, allowing patients to live far longer than during the previous era of ineffective chemotherapy.
Our first Chicago GIST Day of Learning (GDOL) was a huge success! Over 50 GISTers and their families gathered for a great day of learning, and sharing experiences. It was wonderful to get to meet so many new people and reconnect with old friends.
After ten years as an established non-profit, the Life Raft Group identified a critical need in its public image. While the LRG began as a small group of patients and caregivers offering support and guidance to each other while facing the early Gleevec trials, the LRG has now grown into a multi-million dollar international organization, heavily involved in advocacy work and changing the face of GIST research. While we remain true to our support & education roots, the LRG required branding to reflect our current stature and credibility in the medical field.
I’ve been thinking a lot about writing this article. The last thing I want to do is cause worry or pain to anyone reading this. Then I thought of all the people who could possibly benefit in the future from knowing ahead of time what we didn’t know at the time we needed to know it.
1. Comfort is the goal of hospice – Many people think entering hospice is “giving up”, but that’s not true. Hospice is where you go to live comfortably with issues that are no longer in your control. The nurses and staff of hospice are there to assist you and your family in your own home, and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week if needed.