Bkoffman

MY BLOGS
-
BRIAN KOFFMAN'S AWESOME TRANSPLANT AND CLL ADVENTURE: LEARNING FROM AND ABOUT CANCER
http://bkoffman.blogspot.com/
I HAVE A NEED TO LAUGH, AN UNWILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT THE IMPOSSIBLE, AND A NASTY LEUKEMIA (CLL). BY HAVING A TRANSPLANT EARLY, I WAS HOPING TO SAY "I USED TO HAVE LEUKEMIA" LOOKS LIKE I AM STILL HOPING, THIS TIME IN A CLINICAL TRIAL. BUT THE TELLING OF THE JOURNEY HAS BECOME A JOURNEY ITSELF FOR THIS DOCTOR TURNED PATIENT. I AM DOING MORE TEACHING ON CLL IN PARTICULAR AND OTHER CANCERS IN GENERAL. AFTER ALL, WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER. EMAIL ME AT [email protected]
LATEST ARTICLES ( 347 )
-
ASH 2020: Dr. Anthony Mato on LOXO-305 A Next Generation Highly Selective...
In an oral presentation during ASH 2020, Dr. Anthony Mato discussed LOXO-305, a new generation BTKi (Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor) that blocks a key step... Read more
Posted on 14 August 2021 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASH 2020: Dr. Arnon Nagler on Safety and Efficacy of CD19-CAR T Cells in...
At the virtual ASH 2020 Annual Conference and Exposition, Dr. John Pagel of Swedish Hospital and one of CLL Society’s directors interviewed Dr. Read more
Posted on 12 August 2021 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
EHA 2021: Dr. Anthony Mato on Pirtobrutinib (LOXO-305) for Richter’s...
Richter’s transformation (a.k.a. Richter’s syndrome) is a rare complication of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) where the cancer cells transform into a much... Read more
Posted on 12 August 2021 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASH 2020: Dr. Peter Hillmen on the CLARITY Trial of Ibrutinib Plus Venetoclax fo...
The Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib and BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax have been very successful as individual therapies for treating chronic... Read more
Posted on 12 August 2021 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Dr. John Byrd’s Exciting Move to the University of Cincinnati: The Significance...
I have known Dr. John Byrd since we met at ASH in 2011 and he has been my chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) doctor most of that time. Read more
Posted on 08 April 2021 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
The Passing of a CLL Pioneer and Hero: Joe Greenblatt
Sad news. My long time CLL buddy and a founding member of the CLL Society Patient Advisory Board, Joe Greenblatt sailed away on January 23, 2021 after a long... Read more
Posted on 25 January 2021 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASH 2019: Dr. Jennifer Brown on Using Ibrutinib After Progressing on Venetoclax...
There has been much discussion, but little data on what is the best order of medications to treat CLL and whether combining drugs is better than sequencing... Read more
Posted on 07 August 2020 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASH 2018: Dr. Neil Kay on How Stromal Cells Keep CLL (chronic Lymphocytic...
At ASH 2018 in San Diego, CA, I interviewed Dr. Neil Kay out of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, an innovative chronic lymphocytic leukemia researcher who besides... Read more
Posted on 04 August 2019 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
So Tired
.I have been tired and sleepy for weeks now. Which is weird as my CLL is in a deep deep deep remission.I first blamed it on stress- have a googol of problems... Read more
Posted on 14 July 2019 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
May 15, 2019: FDA Approved Venetoclax in Combination with Obinutuzumab for the...
This is very big news.This is the first non-chemotherapy based fixed duration treatment for CLL in treatment naïve patients.Until this approval, the only... Read more
Posted on 23 May 2019 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Acalabrutinib Phase III ASCEND Trial Met Primary Endpoint at Interim Analysis...
This trial in previously treated CLL patients showed a clinically significant progression free survival when compared to a combination regimen of rituximab... Read more
Posted on 12 May 2019 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
One Year CAR-T Anniversary to Treat My CLL and an Interview with Dr. Siddiqi...
HiMarch 22, 2019 was my one year anniversary of receiving my experimental CAR-T cells in Seattle.About a month earlier, I got the great news that I remain U-MRD... Read more
Posted on 27 March 2019 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
CMS Approval of CAR-T Therapy
CMS approves CAR-T therapy payment, but with significant strings attached. For more details see:... Read more
Posted on 17 February 2019 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
The Evolving Role of Clinical Trials in CLL (chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia)
Hi,As many of you know, I am alive today because of my entering two phase I clinical trials, one for PCI-32765 that later became known as ibrutinib and another... Read more
Posted on 30 January 2019 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Upcoming Free CLL Specific Educational Forums for Patients and Caregivers...
We will be holding a total of a dozen free CLL specific ½ day Educational Forums for patients and caregivers across the country over the next few months. Read more
Posted on 23 January 2019 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Reflections on Year of Both Great Progress and Great Sadness in the CLL World
Happy New Year.This year we lost 3 members of our local Orange County CLL Society support group, and I lost other 3 other dear CLL and CAR-T friends that I met... Read more
Posted on 29 December 2018 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Closing One Door, Opening Another.
December 10, 2018 was a monumental day for me. A huge transition.After 38 years of caring for generations of patients as their family doctor, I retired today... Read more
Posted on 13 December 2018 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Off to ASH 2018
Swamped so this will be quick, but I haven't forgotten the blog.I am off to ASH 2018 where we are busy from 7 AM to 10 PM most days. Read more
Posted on 29 November 2018 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASH 2017: Dr. Thomas Kipps on the ROR1 Antibody, Cirmtuzumab
At ASH 2017 held in December in Atlanta, Dr. Thomas Kipps from the Moore Cancer Center at UCSD in San Diego, CA talked about an exciting new target for very... Read more
Posted on 19 August 2018 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASH 2017: Dr. Adrian Wiestner on Resistance Mechanism in CLL (chronic Lymphocyti...
I had the opportunity to interview Dr. Adrian Wiestner from the National Institutes of Health at ASH 2017 in Atlanta GA about his and other researchers work on... Read more
Posted on 11 August 2018 COMMUNITY, HEALTH