Trade names normally aren’t established and trademarked until after FDA preliminary approval of a drug.  Looks like our friends at Onyx are pretty confident that the FDA will step-up and quickly approve carfilzomib for relapsed/refractory myeloma patients. Keeping that in mind, here is the upcoming trial data presentation schedule for carfilzomib at next month’s ASCO [...]

10th Anniversary Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) Laugh for Life: New York Raises Critical Funds for Blood Cancer Research Cat Greenleaf, Host of NBC’s Award Winning “Talk Stoop with Cat Greenleaf,” and Famed Comedian Tom Papa Honor New York Area Supporters The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) announced today that the 10th Anniversary of the [...]

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to fly down to New Orleans and speak to a group of oncology nurses on behalf of the Institute for Medical Education and Research (IMER). The presentation was part of a continuing education program at the Oncology Nurses Society (ONS) 37th annual Congress, May 3rd – 6th.  I [...]

Today is a travel day.   The first day of a very busy week. There is so much new info to share with you!  New ways to chip-away at pain management issues, inspirational stories about our fellow myeloma survivors  and lots of news about the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meetings in Chicago.  There [...]

An amazing week! CureTalk talked to Dr. Richard J. Ablin, the eminent scientist and discoverer of the PSA. We spoke to him at length about discovery of PSA, the USPTF recommendations, his advice to patients and much more. Do not miss the interview; click here for Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. We had [...]

David Bychkov and his team at Exmovere Holdings deliver wireless and embedded biosensor products for healthcare, security, and mobility to government and commercial clients. David is currently ABD in Philosophy of Neuroscience at European Graduate School (EGS) in Saas Fee, Switzerland. David subscribes to Karl Pribram’s holographic model of the brain and served as the [...]

This past week I experienced two extraordinary acts of healthcare kindness in unexpected ways. The first occurred Wednesday.  I hadn’t been paying attention, and my supply of oxycodone pain meds had run low.  No big deal, except I was preparing to head up the South Carolina coast with Pattie for a long weekend. I didn’t [...]

Concerned about FDA secondary cancer warnings when using Revlimid? Dr. James Berenson helps patients understand a new FDA investigation regarding the use of lenalidomide (Revlimid) and thalidomide in a timely interview by Patient Power founder and host, Andrew Schorr. Dr. Berenson also comments on a new study from Sweden regarding increased risk of blood clots [...]

I am not a huge baseball fan to begin with, and when I am, I route for the Nationals.  Thus, I pay little attention to the New York Yankees, and was not aware that Yankee player Mark Teixeira had been suffering with a cough for the past month...

Remember Andy, the Crazy Guy on a Bike I wrote about last month: Crazy Guy on a Bike full of unexpected surprises   Andy and Paul have inspired me to start bike riding again   At the end of our April Nature Coast Multiple Myeloma Support Group meeting, Andy made an unusual request.  “I’m looking [...]

Cure Talk had the honor of interviewing Dr. Richard J. Ablin, Professor of Pathology, University of Arizona College of Medicine, The Arizona Cancer Center, BIO5 Institute and President, Robert Benjamin Ablin Foundation for Cancer Research. Dr. Ablin discovered the prostate specific antigen (PSA) in 1970, on which the current PSA test for prostate cancer is [...]

We continue our conversation with Dr. Ablin (read part 1 here)… Me: What would you recommend men regarding the PSA test? Dr. Ablin: PSA may be elevated in prostatitis, BPH (benign prostate hyperplasia) and cancer. In fact, anything that disturbs the prostate, be it infection, inflammation, can cause an elevation in PSA. Generally, beginning at the [...]

We come to the concluding part of CureTalk’s interview with the eminent scientist, Dr. Richard. J. Ablin (read part 1 and part 2), where he talks about Warren Buffet’s recent prostate cancer diagnosis, advice to people who believe in PSA screening, and his cancer research foundation. Me: Tell us about the Robert Benjamin Ablin Foundation [...]

Happy Spring everyone! Look who’s back! The last time I wrote (which was approximately 17 months ago) I talked about my latest cholesterol test and how the results were NOT good. Well I’ve been tested again. Let’s compare those results with my previous ones. Dec. 2011 Mar. 2012 Healthy range Triglycerides 117 250 <150 Total [...]

I ended Tuesday’s heartfelt, personal post this way: “But tomorrow I would like to share how I feel about my new, perpetual life on chemotherapy.  How I’m not recovering as quickly as I did before my SCT.  And why I am gong to call my new maintenance therapy “RVD light!”  Because that’s all it is–the [...]

Researchers have found the solution for predicting clinical outcomes of prostate cancer post diagnosis in the GENES. The research team from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have discovered that copy number variations or CNV (genetic abnormality) in prostate tumor cells benign tissues adjacent to tumor blood of patients with prostate cancer may help [...]

In a press release NOVAVAX, Inc. announced that it has started enrolment for Phase I clinical trial of bird flu vaccine, reports Fierce Vaccines. The vaccine makes use of the company’s virus-like particle technology or VLP. These are recombinant particles that mimic bacteria or viruses and hence do not cause the disease but are able [...]

"Suck" is a word I seldom use. It's a word I ask my children not to use.  However, in this case the word is appropriate. If as a patient, you have ever had a delay in getting a medication or a test your doctor ordered, it was probably du...

A new study finds that older patients with non-small cell lung cancer are less likely to be treated when compared to younger patients irrespective of their overall health and prognosis. The study in brief, US researchers analyzed data from over 20,000 lung cancer patients in the age group of 65 years and above The patient [...]

A recent study shows that type 2 diabetes may be sent into temporary remission in 75% of the patients through a new treatment. The treatment developed by Toronto researchers involves taking insulin shots for a month. Lead researcher of the study and director of Leadership Sinai Centre for Diabetes explained the way the new treatment [...]