In a new article from the NCI concerning the January 2020 approval of Ayvakit, (produced by Blueprint Medicines) the Life Raft Group is acknowledged in the section, “Capturing the Patient Experience.” We are proud to have played a role in supporting the research involved in bringing a new treatment to market for GIST patients.
Deb Melikian, patient advocate, and Dr. Jason Sicklick, GIST expert & researcher, share the story of their unique partnership which began at an LRG GIST Day of Learning in the rare partners issue of RARE Revolution Magazine.
Each member has a unique story, but all reflect the intrinsic courage of one facing the challenge of GIST. Juan Castelan shares his story.
Blueprint Medicines announced that the FDA has approved AYVAKIT™ (avapritinib) for the treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) harboring a platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) exon 18 mutation, including PDGFRA D842V mutations.
CTOS, "The Connective Tissue Oncology Society", is an organization of medical specialists and researchers who specialize in bone and soft tissue tumors. They hold a meeting every year to discuss the latest innovations in this area. This year the meeting took place in Tokyo from November 13 until 16.
Each member has a unique story, but all reflect the intrinsic courage of one facing the challenge of GIST. Sara Penne shares her story.
An LRG GIST Mentor helps patients and their caregivers through their GIST journey – from receiving a diagnosis to navigating different resources of information, support, treatment options, side effects, etc.
The UK National Cancer Research Institute’s (NCRI) annual conference was held on November 3rd-5th. This year the conference was held in Glasgow (Scotland).
The Life Raft Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Eric Biegansky to our Board. Eric brings his passion for supporting GIST patients and for finding a cure to his new role.
I was a piano teacher and performing pianist for the past 13 years but stopped work completely this year so I could spend more time with Andrew and see to his needs. We were so lost in the beginning because we did not know what to expect, due to the relative rarity of GISTs.
