Thank You For Being A Friend
Norman Scherzer (Executive Director) performing to the theme song of Golden Girls to say thanks for helping The Life Raft Group.
Wildtype GIST & SDH: What to Know
Written by Jennifer Wright April, 2011 - This article is a summary of “Defects in succinate dehydrogenase in gastrointestinal stromal tumors lacking KIT and PDGFRA mutations” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [...]
GIST 2010: A Decade of Difference
Here is a video from the Life Raft Group called GIST 2010: A Decade of Difference! See how far we have come in just ten years in the treatment and research of [...]
FDA too rigid in review of drugs for critically ill
Scott Gottlieb has fired a shot across the FDA's statisticalconfidence bow. The former FDA Deputy Commissioner, using the Wall Street Journal as his command post, charges the regulator with "steadily disregarding" the provisions of the FDA Modernization Act that give it "broad discretion" to reduce the quantity and rigor of clinical data needed to approve drugs targeting grave illnesses.
Italian GISTers hold 4th national meeting
Italian GISTers hold 4th national meeting Written by Gabriella Tedone A .I.G.’s (Associazione Italiana GIST) fourth national meeting was held at Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori (INT) in Milan on February 26, 2011. The focus [...]
State of the GIST Community Part 2: What do we know about your diagnosis?
One of the most common questions GIST patients ask of the Life Raft Group is how many cases of GIST out there are like mine? With a total of 1,279 GIST cases reported to us [...]
Healthcare 2011 and beyond: Part 2
Medicaid is a state-run program that helps pay medical costs for some people with limited income and resources and meet other eligibility requirements. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, like help with personal care and rides to doctor appointments. If you qualify for Medicaid in your state, you automatically qualify to get Extra Help paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage.
Fletcher Science Lab – Behind the walls of Brigham & Women’s
Go inside the Fletcher Science Lab at Brigham & Women's with David Josephy and Dr. Jonathan Fletcher. David Josephy is the President of Life Raft Group Canada, a member of the LRG Science Team, and [...]
Dating with GIST: the who, what, when and just plain how? (Part 2)
The perilous world of dating can become even more complicated when you are living with cancer. This article is the second in a two part series on dating with a diagnosis of GIST. Part one, which was published in the February 2011 issue of the LRG newsletter featured experiences from three GIST survivors, Jason DeLorenzo, Eric Tan & Estelle Lecointe on the difficulties approaching the subject of GIST while dating. Part two covers tips on approaching the subject, a success story and new ways to meet people.
Breaking News Update: TDM renews plasma testing
On April 21, 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning letter to Novartis criticizing its promotion of blood level testing on its CML and GIST Alliance websites. As of September 30, 2010, Novartis terminated the CML and GIST Alliance programs which it had contracted with TDM Pharmaceutical Research, LLC. Since then, the Life Raft Group has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to try and resume this critical testing procedure as it has important potential for managing GIST patient care.