Bkoffman

LATEST ARTICLES ( 352 )

• Personal Update on My CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia): The Good News

  It's been a while since I posted on my personal medical news.Today in Columbus, it was all good. CBC was happily and boringly normal. My Hgb still shows that I... Read more

  Posted on 15 April 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• ASH 2013: Dr. Claire Dearden Discusses CLL Treatment in the Elderly

  One of the nicest doctors in the world of CLL is the English hematologist or should I say haemotologist, Dr. Claire Dearden of the Royal Marsden in London.At AS... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• ASH 2013: Dr. Jeff Sharman Discusses FCR Versus BR in Front Line CLL

  In this interview, Dr. Jeff Sharman gives us some understanding of the important trial data presented at ASH 2013 that compares FCR (fludarabine,... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• The Good Cancer

  Here is a post I wrote in response to a spirited discussion in a CLL forum on the topic of how we patients are informed about our diagnosis and the unnecessary... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• Pils, Pills and More Pills: A Follow-up

  Seems as if my last post on too many pills struck a nerve.According to some of the feedback that I received, I am way out of my league with my complaints about... Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• Pills, Pills and More Pills: A Serious and Sometimes Humorous Look at Adherence

  I have blogged extensively on the serious problem with adherence with oral cancer medications in past posts. Check out my interviews from ASH 2013 if you haven'... Read more

  Posted on 11 March 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• The Sad and Untimely Death of My Dear Friend Dragana: "Dying for Your Principles...

  

  2011 in WalesDragana is wearing the red skirtIf tragedy is suffering without meaning, then I am trying to give meaning to the untimely death of this beautiful... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• ASH 2013: Dr Jeff Sharman Discusses the Ideal Design of Phase 3 Trials with Nove...

  As a patient, it is easy to be critical of study design.Case in point: The phase 3 trial of rituximab (R) plus idelalisib (I) versus rituximab plus placebo... Read more

  Posted on 28 February 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• ASH 2013: Jan Geissler & Giora Sharf Part 2 on Adherence, the High Cost of Cance...

  In the second part of my interviews from ASH 2013 with two smart patient advocates in the CML world, Jan Geissler and Giora Sharf reveal the results of their... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• YEAH! Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) is Approved for CLL

  No matter who we are or where we are in our lives with CLL, today is a great day.Ibrutinib was approved as mono-therapy for CLL patients who have had at least... Read more

  Posted on 13 February 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• ASH 2013: Giora Sharf and Jan Geissler Discuss Mediation Adherence Or “Drugs...

  I am introducing a new subject, namely the importance of taking our medications as prescribed.What we call this simple behavior has been undergoing some... Read more

  Posted on 07 February 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• ASH 2013: Dr. Jennifer Brown Discusses the New Data on Obinutuzumab (GA-101 Or...

  At ASH 2013, there was much to celebrate for those us with CLL.This interview was recorded immediately after Dr. Jennifer Brown of Dana Farber had moderated an... Read more

  Posted on 04 February 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• Dosing of Ibrutinib and Other Oral Agents

  "Poison is in everything, and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy."PARACELSUSRecently there has been some discussions... Read more

  Posted on 23 January 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• iwCLL 2013: Dr. Byrd Discusses If and When to Stop and the Long Term Use of...

  

  In this last part of my interview with Dr. Byrd from iwCLL 2013 in Koln, Germany, he speculates on the issues of long term risks of using ibrutinib, and the... Read more

  Posted on 19 January 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• The News About Ibrutinib from My Infusion Chair, The Resonate Trial, and Lancet...

  Yesterday, I was at the infusion center for my IVig and got back one of the most normal lab results since my diagnosis. No anemia, normal neutrophils and... Read more

  Posted on 12 January 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• iwCLL 2013: Prof Hallek Discusses a Focused Role of Chemo-Immunotherapy

  In this brief second part of a three part interview from iwCLL 2013, Professor Hallek precisely defines the populations that do well with chemo-immunotherapy. Read more

  Posted on 10 January 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• iwCLL 2013: Dr. Michael Hallek Discusses Clinical Trials in Germany Versus the...

  Happy New Year.I am in Alameda, enjoying babysitting my 7 month old and 2 1/2 year old granddaughters. Needless to say, finding a second to get any work done... Read more

  Posted on 02 January 2014 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• ASH 2013: Dr. Adrian Wiestner Discusses Prognostic and Predictive Factors, the...

  Merry Christmas.In the second part of the interview from ASH 2013 in New Orleans, Dr. Adrian Wiestner from the NIH gives us some very carefully considered... Read more

  Posted on 26 December 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• ASH 2013: Dr. Wiestner Discusses Why Therapy in CLL Needs to Be Individualized

  In the first of my video interviews from ASH 2013, Dr. Wiestner of the NIH outlines in some detail just how heterogeneous a disease CLL is now understood to... Read more

  Posted on 22 December 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH

• Paul Henderson Battles Back Against Cancer

  

  Paul Henderson and me in Niagara FallsThank you, Toronto Sun for this good news story in your hockey section.OK, I am still a Canadian.OK, I am still a huge... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH