Next IMF Patient and Family Seminar slated for Aug. 18-19 in LA
Free International Myeloma Foundation event to connect experts, patients
The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) will host its second in-person Patient and Family Seminar of the year on Aug. 18-19 in Los Angeles.
At the upcoming event, which will be held at the Sofitel Hotel in the Southern California city and livestreamed, individuals with this rare cancer and their family members will be able to hear from and interact with world-renowned myeloma experts about treatment advances and clinical trials.
Participants also will have opportunities to interact with others in the myeloma community and share their experiences.
“IMF Patient and Family Seminars gather doctors, patients, and families to share stories and connect with those going through similar journeys. These seminars present a unique opportunity for attendees to learn from leading global myeloma researchers, free of charge,” the foundation stated in a press release announcing the event.
Registration now open for free in person and virtual event
Registration for the free event is now open and can be done online. The IMF also has arranged for a limited number of discounted rooms at the Sofitel hotel, which are available on the basis of first come, first served, until August 2. A virtual livestream also will be available for those who are unable to attend in person.
Topics at the upcoming seminar will include artificial intelligence, approaches to relapse therapy, immune therapy options, and varying types of frontline therapy. One session being held is “Taking the Reins of Your Multiple Myeloma Care,” while “Myeloma 101: What Myeloma Patients Need to Know” also will be on offer. Each session will be led by experts in the myeloma field.
Brian G.M. Durie, MD, IMF’s chairman of the board and chief scientific officer, will head an “Ask-the-Experts” open forum session at which patients and families can directly interact and ask questions.
According to the IMF, Patient and Family Seminars are not just designed to be educational, but to facilitate the formation of support networks for individuals with this cancer and caregivers who are attending. A care partner breakout session is on this seminar’s agenda.
The first IMF Patient and Family Seminar was launched in 1993, under the direction of Susie Novis Durie, IMF’s founder and director of global patient initiatives. Events have been held ever since in a variety of locations.
The upcoming seminar will be the second one to be held in-person this year. The first was in Boca Raton, Florida, in March, and marked a return to the in-person format after three years of virtual events due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Among many other IMF initiatives to improve care and the lives of people with multiple myeloma, the nonprofit’s Nurse Leadership Board recently launched a free online educational program. It’s designed to help nurses and other healthcare professionals know more about multiple myeloma.
The program, called Myeloma University, contains tools and resources that may be useful for myeloma patients and caregivers. New, relevant modules are expected to be added in the future.
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