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.
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.
A new blood testing technology may lead to major changes in treatment of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors. In a study presented in April by Dr. George Demetri of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, the blood test was shown to be more effective than traditional biopsies in identifying secondary mutations in GIST.
Carrie Broussard gave birth to a healthy baby boy on May 1, after finding out she was pregnant in the midst of treatment with Gleevec. She named him Caelum, which in the Celtic origin means ‘brave warrior’ and in the Australian origin means ‘a gift.”
LRG Global Relations Coordinator Piga Fernández Kaempffer, a GIST patient, gave a conference about her own disease, drawing the attention of professionals, who carefully listened as she shared with them from her perspective the evolution of this pathology.
While there are many physical challenges that come with raising a child when you are living with GIST, Dana Pearson puts her energy into conquering the mental ones.
Jonathan Fletcher and Sebastian Bauer of the LRG’s Research Team were among the authors in a study to be published in Cancer Research that examined the relationship between GIST and the expression of the gene DOG1.
GIST Day of Learning (GDOL), a free event, was held at the University of Miami on Saturday, March 23. Sponsored through the generous support of Bayer, Novartis and Genentech, this event is the second in a series of seminars focusing on the education and support of GIST patients and their families.
Mo Collins is not your typical actress/comedienne, because Mo Collins is a GIST survivor. Keep reading to learn more about Mo Collins and her fight against GIST. Mo is using this gift in a very selfless way by organizing a comedy fundraiser for the Life Raft Group and GIST research.
