EHA2021 VIRTUAL: 26th EHA Annual Congress

Only two weeks left to start the European Hematology Association Congress 2021 from June 9 to 17 and get informed about the highlight state-of-the-art clinical practice, recent advances, new data and views from different stakeholders as well as international organizations.

Once again, we will be attending this key meeting for the CML patient advocacy community that will be held online due to the impact of COVID-19 for the second time in its history, and sharing with you the information on our social media channels and website.

This is an excellent opportunity to explore the newest developments in CML and beyond and new evidence-based approaches to diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, this year the European Hematology Association is introducing several new session types at #EHA2021 as on-demand Guidelines Sessions or live Thematic Debates.

Check out the CML featured sessions we have summarized for you:

It is with great sadness that we share the loss of another friend and CML patient advocate Minella López, President of FUNDALMC, the patient organisation supporting CML patients in Venezuela. She passed away on 4th April 2021, due to COVID19 infection.

Minella was a fighter, passionate person, and a lover of structured things who made enormous efforts on behalf of the CML patient community in Venezuela, reaching the scope that FUNDALMC has today.

She always received full support of her colleagues within the Foundation, aligning the advocacy work with the CML patient needs for better access to medicines and health care in her country.

One of the most important milestones Minella achieved with the support of the CML advocates was the establishment of a legal, solid and well-structured patient organisation in Venezuela so that no CML patient is left behind.

"Mother hen, Minella was a beautiful, good-hearted, perfectionist, persevering, kind, and compassionate woman. She has left us too soon but her sense of commitment to the patient needs and advocacy work will inspire us to drive high-level projects on her behalf to keep on supporting CML patients in Venezuela. We will do our best to push forward to ensure her dreams, esteem vision, and memory continue", as FUNDALMC Board and many patients stated.

We wish Minella's family and all friends all the strength and courage they need in these difficult times. 

May there be comfort in knowing that someone so special will never be forgotten.

Rest in peace, dear Minella.

We hereby proudly welcome a new member organisation in the CML Advocates Network:

How Big Data and large data sets are helping to ask and answer previously unknown questions and answers in research on hematological diseases.

Big Data – the term has been a topic of controversial debate for several years.

Why, despite all the criticism, should we gather and analyze big amounts of data? Why does it hold great potential for health research?

How does the HARMONY project launched by the EU’s Innovative Medicines Initiative make use of Big Data, and to what extent do patient organizations have a central role to play in this?

And what role does it play in CML? 

It is with regret and sadness to hear of our recent loss of our dear friend Jacek Gugulski, who passed away on the 6th of February at the age of 52 years after long time of struggling with cancer. A service is being held on Thursday, February 11th at 13:00 in Chęcinach, St. Bartholomew Church.

Jacek was the long-time President and Co-founder of our member in Poland, the Polish Nationwide Association of CML Patients and the Polish Cancer Patient Coalition.

He was a friendly and charismatic person, a very respected patient advocate. In his activities for the benefit of haematological patients, he showed great empathy and commitment. He initiated many meetings and actions promoting cancer treatment for patients throughout Poland. He engaged heavily to ensure that haematological patients in Poland had access to effective drugs and therapies.

In our Co-founder Jan Geissler words, "I have known Jacek since 2004. He was diagnosed with CML in 1991. He co-founded "Stowarzyszenie PBS" in 2004 and from that moment was very active to advocate on behalf of cancer patients on the national and international level. 

In 2004, he was at our European Cancer Patient Coalition Summit of Cancer Patients Advocacy Groups in Central and Eastern Europe held in Warsaw under the hospices of the Polish First Lady Jolanta Kwaśniewska.

In 2005, the year we decided to set up the CML Advocates Network, a number of CML patient organisations did one of their first joint advocacy activities by sending letters from all parts of the world to appeal to the Polish government to reconsider their position on putting Glivec on the list of reimbursed medicines in Poland, which, thanks to Jacek, was successful. 

He attended many European Cancer Patient Coalition meetings, as the Masterclass in 2009, and a countless number of CML Horizons conferences over the past decade. We will miss Jacek a lot!"

On behalf of the global CML patient advocacy community, we extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife Monica, and his two sons Bartek and Cuba and also to the whole family and friends. We wish them peace to bring comfort and courage to face the difficult days ahead.

Rest in peace, dear Jacek.

The 62nd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition organised by the American Society of Hematology was finally held virtually on December 5-8, 2020, given the coronavirus outbreak situation.

We have prepared a Conference Report in order to provide you the latest updates on the management of chronic myeloid leukemia and the most important highlights presented in this key meeting for the CML community.

Download the ASH 2020 Conference report by clicking on the image below: