Minneapolis Group Sets Dates, Location

The Minneapolis Myeloma Support Group, the Twin Cities' original and largest group, has set the third Saturday of each month as the date, and the Park Nicollet (Methodist Hospital) Cancer Center Conference Room as the location for upcoming meetings.

Heretofore the group has met at intervals of about six weeks, but from now on it will be monthly, always on Saturday from 10:00 am to noon. Some upcoming dates are:

• Feb 21
• Mar 21
• Apr 18
• May 16

Recently the group has met in the Cardiovascular Center at Park Nicollet during construction at the cancer center, but the Cancer center Conference Room will be the new home starting immediately.

Methodist Hospital
Cancer Center Conference Room
6500 Excelsior Blvd.
St Louis Park, MN
MAP (follow the green line)

January Meetings in Minnesota

Wednesday, Jan 14, 2009, 1:00 pm: Stillwater
Saturday, Jan 17, 2009, 10:00 am: Rochester
Saturday, Jan 24, 2009, 10:00 am: St. Louis Park


Ms. Sandra L. Tazelaar (Sandi), a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and therapist, will speak to the St. Paul group on January 14. Ms. Tazelaar (Sandi) is especially helpful in counseling patients with cancer.
1:00 - 3:00 pm
Family Means Center
1875 Northwestern Ave S
Stillwater, MN 55082
MAP

The Rochester, Minnesota support group will hold its next regular meeting Saturday, January 17, 10:00 am to noon. They are on the third Saturday of each month - the full 2009 schedule is listed in the panel to the right. A Mayo Clinic representative is always present. Breakfast is provided.
Gift of Life Transplant House
705 Second St SW
Rochester, MN 55902
507/288-7470
MAP

The Minneapolis, Minnesota support group will hold its next regular meeting Saturday, January 24, 10:00 am to noon. This is the original and largest Twin Cities support group, led by long-term myeloma survivors.

We will meet in the Cardiovascular Center. Park in the blue ramp on the east side of the hospital, and bring in your ticket for validation. See MAP.
Methodist Hospital
6500 Excelsior Blvd.
St Louis Park, MN
MAP

Pot Luck in Stillwater

The St Paul support group invites you to a pot luck on December 10, 2008. Bring a favorite dish, or just come - there will be plenty of food.

The meeting will be dedicated to Gene and Ardie, both of whom will be undergoing stem cell transplants at that time.

1:00 - 3:00 pm
Family Means Center
1875 Northwestern Ave S
Stillwater, MN 55082
MAP

Dr Van Ness Will Speak to St Paul Group

Dr Brian Van Ness, Ph.d, department head of the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development at the University of Minnesota Masonic Cancer Center, will speak to the St Paul support group in Stillwater on Wednesday, Nov. 19. Dr. Van Ness is director of the "Bank on a Cure" program at the university, which seeks to find genetic markers which can assist in a patient's prognosis and, especially, can tell doctors which treatments will be most effective for that patient.

The meeting will be:
Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Family Means Center
1875 Northwestern Ave S
Stillwater, MN 55082
MAP

Twin Cities Myeloma Foundation Invites You

To join us for
an Educational Seminar and Holiday Lunch

Saturday, December 13, 2008
Sofitel Hotel
5601 West 78th St.
Bloomington, MN
(I-494 and Hwy 100) MAP

Registration at 8:30, program at 9:00, lunch from 12:00 to about 1:00 pm.
No charge for registration or lunch, but you do need to RSVP, see below.

Speakers
Morie Gertz, MD	Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Chair, Mayo transplant protocol for Multiple Myeloma. Dr. Gertz will speak about new developments at the very recent conference of the American Society of Hematology.
Helen Healy, ND	Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine Dr. Healy will speak about the role of naturopathy in healing, and especially about nutrition.
Come share your experience and gain strength from others as you join us for this very informative seminar followed by a relaxing holiday lunch.

First speaker Helen Healy at 9:00.

To register for this seminar please R.S.V.P. as soon as possible by emailing us at: tcmyeloma @ gmail.com, or call Pat at 952 473 1782 and leave your first and last name on the voice mail.

This seminar is supported by unrestricted educational grants from: Celgene Pharmaceutical Company Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

ASH Conference Update Seminar

On Saturday, December 13, 2008, The Minneapolis Myeloma Support Group will hold a seminar on the results of the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), which will be held just a few days earlier, December 4-9. We will get a hot-off-the-press update by a hematologist who attended this key conference. A few of the talks already scheduled for the conference are:

• High-risk myeloma;
• Stem-cell imaging;
• Hematology and aging;
• Deep-vein thrombosis; and
• Many, many more.

In addition, Helen Healy, ND, will speak on the role of naturopathy in treatment of cancer. Dr. Healy is an experienced, graduate naturopathic doctor with a specialty in oncology, and an energizing lecturer as well.

Further, tentatively, a speaker will be invited to talk about medical insurance prescription coverage.

Details are not all settled yet, but the meeting is currently planned to start at 9:00 am, ending at 12:00 noon, at the Hotel Sofitel, 5601 West 78th St., Bloomington, MN, at the junction of Hwy 100 and I-494. Take Hwy 100 to Industrial Blvd, then immediately south on the service road which is on the west side of 100.    MAP

Stay tuned. This is an important event - please do put December 13 on your calendar and plan to come.

Other Meeting Notices:

The St Paul Support group will have its regular monthly meeting:

Wednesday, Oct 15, 2008, 1:00 - 3:00 pm
Family Means Center
1875 Northwestern Ave S
Stillwater, MN 55082
MAP

The Rochester Support Group will also meet:

Saturday, Oct 18, 2008, 10:00 am - Noon
Gift of Life Transplant House
705 Second St SW
Rochester, MN 55902
507/288-7470
MAP

Twin Cities Regional Community Workshop Held

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) and the Minneapolis Myloma Support Group hosted a workshop at Methodist Hospital, September 27, 2008. Doctor Angela Dispenzieri of Mayo Clinic gave a presentation titled "Myeloma 101," which took the group from the basic nature of myeloma through conventional therapy to the newest therapies and a few experimental ones. After lunch, Teresa Miceli, RN, BSN, from the IMF, spoke on the management of side effects of treatment. Questions were entertained during and after both talks, and the group asked a lot of questions.

Here are few of the subjects touched, in no particular order:

• Deletion of chromosome 13 is not always bad. Depending on the method by which it is detected, deletion-13 may be neutral.
• There is no clear information to suggest that maintenance therapy is preferable to no therapy, after remission is achieved or after a stem cell transplant (SCT), nor is there information suggesting the opposite. It's a personal decision, usually with no wrong answer.
• The death rate from autologous SCT is in the range of one percent, whereas the death rate from allogenic SCT is more like thirty percent.
• SCT does not normally cause neuropathy.
• Revlimid is much less likely to cause neuropathy than is thalidomide.

Helen Berg, who has been instrumental in organizing and promoting the Minneapolis Support Group since the beginning, was presented with a very well-deserved award for outstanding achievement. Congratulations Helen, and THANK YOU! You may be very proud of the work you have done.

The meeting included lunch, provided by the IMF. People came from as far away as Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Teresa Miceli expressed gratitude and appreciation especially for the caregivers in attendance, echoed by all of the survivors. Attendees came away with cool IMF t-shirts, myeloma literature, and other goodies.

Angela Dispenzieri, MD		Teresa Miceli, RN, BSN