My name is Juliana Popova and I’m the chairperson of the Bulgarian support group for people with GIST – “GIST Alliance for Patients-Bulgaria”. Our organization was founded in January 2012. All patients can contact us [...]
Piga Fernandez, the LRG’s global relations coordinator, participated in an activity called “I have cancer, …lets talk” organized by Red Chile Cancer, a coalition of cancer patient groups in Chile. The main objective [...]
Carol Heller will be working with Jeff Bernstein to cover the state of Pennsylvania as local group leaders. She is very excited to help and hold meetings, and will be handling the eastern region of [...]
On Saturday December 15, 2012, a group of CML and GIST patients got together to summarize activities done during 2012, and celebrate the end of the year.
If you have been mailed a fundraising packet and still have donor cards to send out, it is not too late. Consider passing one on to a neighbor co-worker, friend or family member.
Representatives from the Life Raft Group recently traveled to Prague, Czech Republic to attend the annual Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) meeting. CTOS is an international group comprised of physicians and scientists with a primary interest in the tumors of connective tissues.
“It was such a frustrating time. It was awful,” Linda says, recalling how doctors had recommended she give Glaxo-SmithKline’s drug Votrient a shot but was unable to get Jessica’s insurance company to cover it despite appeals documented by GIST specialists.
Since we have gotten a number of questions about Gleevec (imatinib) plasma levels and testing, I think it’s time to revisit the subject, especially for newer members. Since this is a very complex subject, this may take a few emails and a few days.
Stivarga comes in 40 mg tablets. Once opened, it must be used within 28 days. Stivarga must be stored in the bottle that it comes in, the desiccant must remain in the bottle; keep bottle tightly sealed. Do not store in a daily or weekly pill box.
Many new cancer drugs are entering clinical practice and clinical trials. Many GIST patients are no longer responding to Gleevec or Sutent and thus are looking for clinical trials. Understanding strategies and grouping these new drugs into classes with other similar drugs may help patients understand some of their choices.
