Day 4 of Myeloma Giving: Give Gratitude for Multiple Myeloma Progress

From December 10 – 21, the Myeloma Crowd is sharing 12 Days of Myeloma Giving. Please share this post and invite your friends and family to participate. Each day we will share something you can give to lift others. These gifts will save lives, lengthen lives and makes lives happier and more meaningful – maybe even your own.

My friend who has ALS (and a wicked sense of humor) told me, "I'm jealous of your terminal disease." With a terminal disease, the humor can be dark, but he is right. If you have to get a terminal disease, multiple myeloma is better than ALS which has no biomarkers and no available treatments. 

There was no better place to see this in full force than the recent ASH conference. It was a flood of information as usual, but what stood out to me the most was the sheer number of myeloma doctors performing such incredible research and stunning number of companies in the space trying to develop curative drugs - just for myeloma. It's completely jaw-dropping to me what is happening. 

Here are just a few advances and we haven't even posted a third of the information coming out of ASH yet! 

• ASH 2018: Dr. Rafael Fonseca of the Mayo Clinic Selects His Top 5 ASH Myeloma Abstracts
• ASH 2018: Is Venetoclax Effective Against High-Risk Multiple Myeloma?
• ASH 2018: Ixazomib and Elotuzumab Combos are Promising for High-Risk Smoldering Patients
• ASH 2018: Adding Daratumumab to Velcade/Revlimid/Dex Effective for Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
• ASH 2018: Poster Sessions at ASH Can Share Some Great Information!
• ASH 2018: Determining Multiple Myeloma Risk and Survival Rates
• ASH 2018: Ninlaro as a Maintenance Therapy After Transplant
• ASH 2018: Top 5 Abstracts from 7 Myeloma Specialists!
• ASH 2018 Is An Amazing CAR show! Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)
• ASH 2018: Early Relapse After Transplant - A New Indicator of Outcomes for Myeloma Patients? 
• ASH 2018: Carfilzomib Triplet Combinations Compared
• ASH 2018: NCI to Focus on Big Data
• ASH 2018: MRD Testing and Myeloma Treatment Choices Dr. Ola Landgren
• DR. Paqrmeswaran Hari of the Medical College of Wisconsin Selects His Top 6 ASH 2018 Abstracts
• ASH 2018: High Risk and "Double Hit" Myeloma
• ASH 2018: Maintenance Therapy in Multiple Myeloma
• Dr. Ola Landgren of MSKCC Selects His Top 5 ASH 2018 Myeloma Abstracts

So today, please thank a myeloma doctor, a myeloma researcher, a foundation or group providing funding, a pharma company, or your care team by sharing this article with the Twitter tag #mmsm or on FaceBook. You can also send a quick email or better yet, an old-fashioned handwritten card. 

Even with a cancer none of us ever wanted, we are so fortunate to be getting incredible attention to drive towards a cure faster.