Bkoffman
MY BLOGS
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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 ( 357 )
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iwCLL 2013: Day One
So far iwCLL 2013 has been a very cutting edge and bench science driven conference. Great stuff, but not easy stuff to digest.Tomorrow that changes with more... Read more
Posted on 09 September 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
iwCLL 2013: Live from Cologne: The Opening Ceremony and Reception
Let me just say that this is going to an amazing conference. An Cologne is old worldly and charming, though vegan food will be a challenge. Read more
Posted on 08 September 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
First We Take Berlin
The powerful and haunting wordless Memorial to the Murdered Jews of EuropeThe symbol of Berlin, in victory and in peace, divided and unified, the Brandenburg... Read more
Posted on 06 September 2013 TRAVEL -
Large Granular Lymphocytic Leukemia: What We CLL Patients Can Learn from a...
This week in Blood there was a very interesting article published on a very rare form of blood cancer, LGLL or large granular lymphocytic leukemia. Read more
Posted on 31 August 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASCO 2013: Dr. Jeff Sharman on Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) and Coffee and Road...
Dr. Sharman is a great educator with a super blog on CLL and NHL (Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma) talks about MCL.He points out the specific challenges with MCL and... Read more
Posted on 28 August 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
CLL: Report From The Infusion Center
It has been six weeks since my previous infusion of IVIG for my now well-behaved ITP and my platelets remain near 400,000, a very healthy level. Read more
Posted on 17 August 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
More Comments on to Tell Or Not to Tell About Our CLL
Here are three comments that tell a very different story about the risk of sharing the CLL news.Would that the world was different. Read more
Posted on 16 August 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Paid Opportunity to Be Interviewed About CLL in Manhattan
I have been approached again to help with recruitment for CLL patients to be interviewed, this time in Manhattan.This is not a clinical trial, but likely more a... Read more
Posted on 15 August 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASCO 2013: Dr. Sharman on The Biology of CLL Being Cracked with a Therapeutic...
At the ASCO 2013 in Chicago, I had a chance to catch on camera some of the enthusiasm and optimism of Dr. Sharman.Dr. Sharman is the director of research at... Read more
Posted on 12 August 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
CLL: More on to Tell Or Not to Tell
The following personal note on whether to share our cancer diagnosis or keeps the battles secret was send by one astute and candid commentator in response to... Read more
Posted on 10 August 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
George Duke Dies of CLL and None of His Fans Knew of the Battle Until His...
"Jazz, funk and soul keyboard maestro George Duke (pictured) passed away at the age of 67. The musician reportedly battled chronic lymphocytic leukemia,... Read more
Posted on 08 August 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Report from My Scans and Lab at OSU
I am back home at last after a whirlwind tour of three states in five days.My trip to Columbus for my OSU clinic visit at the James Hospital was enhanced by... Read more
Posted on 26 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
More on Halting the Lenalidomide Trial
The decision to halt the ORIGIN study was based on an analysis conducted in March that showed CLL patients treated with Revlimid had a 92 percent increased ris... Read more
Posted on 20 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Lenalidomide (Revlimid) Associated with Excess Deaths in the Elderly
Honestly, I didn't see this coming. The IMIDs (immuno-modulating drugs such as lenalidomide or Revlimid) are touted as kinder gentler and safer therapy for the... Read more
Posted on 18 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASCO 2013: Dr. Wierda on Prognostic Factors
The whole arena of prognostic factors in CLL is constantly evolving, but a few principles have remained constant over the years.1: Most, if not nearly all the... Read more
Posted on 17 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Flashback: I Meet My Donor in 2009
This page, recently sent to me by a CLL friend across the country, is from the 2009 Annual Report of Ezer Mizion, a not for profit charity that among other... Read more
Posted on 16 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
More Good Lab News
Our EHR (the electronic chart of all the medical records where I work and get my care) is down again, but before it crashed, I was able to view most of my lab... Read more
Posted on 14 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
ASCO 2013: Dr. Wierda Discusses Immune Therapies in CLL
In this first of several interviews from ASCO 2013, Dr. Bill Wierda of MDACC discusses immunity in general (or lack there of) in CLL and how that relates to... Read more
Posted on 10 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
Five Years Post "Failed" Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant
Granddaughter, Amira at the July 4th ParadeThe last half of June and the first week of July are full of red letter days for me. Read more
Posted on 05 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH -
CLL Support Group on July 3, 2013 at 4 PM at the Moore Cancer Center
Please join me tomorrow at UCSD at 4 PM on the 2nd floor of the Moore Cancer Center in the "Commons" for my talk to the CLL support group based on my... Read more
Posted on 03 July 2013 COMMUNITY, HEALTH
