WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Myeloma is a cancer of new plasma cells and starts in the bone marrow. It is one of the most difficult blood cancers to treat successfully.
Today, new therapies provide patients with choices previously unavailable.
To provide patients, their families and healthcare professionals the most up-to-date information about the disease, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the leading source of information on all blood cancers, has created a new myeloma telephone education series. The series, sponsored by Millennium Pharmaceuticals and Celgene Corp., will feature three free national teleconferences, led by top myeloma experts discussing the latest research trends and treatment options. All participants will receive special newsletters summarizing what was discussed and previewing future workshops. The program will begin this summer.
Also coming this summer, each of the Society's 64 chapters in the United States will begin conducting Exploring Myeloma, a free education program featuring local myeloma experts and sponsored by Celgene Corp.
"The changing landscape of myeloma treatment makes it extremely important for patients to be up to date on current therapies," said Robin Kornhaber, the Society's Senior Vice President, Patient Services. "This series will provide important information for making treatment choices."
There are approximately 56,104 people in the United States living with myeloma and from 1995 to 2001 survival from the disease five years after diagnosis was only 32.4 percent and even the most aggressive therapies rarely cure the disease. The disease is twice as prevalent among African-Americans as it is among Caucasian Americans. The incidence of myeloma has been found to be 11.1 cases per 100,000 African Americans as compared to 5.3 cases per 100,000 for people of European descent.
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society(R), headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 66 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The Society's mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has invested more than $424 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, the Society made 2.5 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
For more information about blood cancer, visit http://www.LLS.org or call the Society's Information Resource Center (IRC), a call center staffed by master's level social workers, nurses and health educators who provide information, support and resources to patients and their families and caregivers. IRC information specialists are available
Contact: Andrea Greif, 914-821-8958
The Leukemia & Lymphoma SocietyCONTACT: Andrea Greif, +1-914-821-8958, for The Leukemia & LymphomaSociety
Web site: http://www.LLS.org/
