When Michael Tuohy was diagnosed with the blood cancer myeloma, his wife, Robin and their two children, 14 year old Ally and 9 year old Mikey made a goal to “empower” and encourage other cancer patients and their families. Through the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF), and its announcement of the first cross-country trip of the MYELOMA MOBILE, the Tuohy’s are able to make their goal a reality.
The MYELOMA MOBILE will give Michael and Robin a chance to reach out to other patients and caregivers. It will also provide his children Ally and Mikey a chance to speak with others their age about living with a parent with cancer. They are working together to publicize blood cancers such as myeloma and how it is frequently diagnosed in younger people in increasing numbers. They will also describe new therapeutics that are helping to make myeloma treatable and more manageable.
Myeloma, also called multiple myeloma, is a cancer of the bone marrow that affects the production of red cells, white cells, and stem cells. It is the second most common of the blood cancers affecting an estimated 750,000 people worldwide. In industrialized countries it is being diagnosed in growing numbers and in increasingly younger people. There is no cure, but new drugs that can be used in combination and in sequence, are changing the outlook for people like Michael Tuohy.
“Cancer can be daunting for families facing it alone, especially a cancer with an unusual name such as ‘multiple myeloma,” says Robin Tuohy. “We had never heard of it ourselves. So we are taking this opportunity to travel across country bringing literature and information patients and families can use.”
According to Susie Novis, president and co-founder of the IMF, “The Tuohy’s have important information to bring. While the benefits of most cancer treatments are measured in months, we are seeing many of our patients experience long-term responses measured in years and achieved without the ravages of chemotherapy.”
The Myeloma Mobile begins its summer trip in New Haven, CT and travels to Boston/Cambridge; Ann Arbor, MI; Rochester, MN; Denver; Sunnyvale and Los
Angeles, CA; Scottsdale, AZ; Dallas and Houston; Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Summit, NJ, and then a homecoming in Connecticut on August 17.
The International Myeloma Foundation is the oldest and largest myeloma organization, reaching more than 135,000 members in 113 countries worldwide. A 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of myeloma patients and their families, the IMF focuses in four key areas: research, education, support and advocacy. To date, the IMF has conducted more than 120 educational seminars worldwide, maintains a world-renowned hotline, and operates Bank on a CureR, a unique gene bank to advance myeloma research. The IMF was rated as the number one resource for patients in an independent survey by the Target Research Group.
The Los Angeles MYELOMA MOBILE event will take place on July 15th at 4pm at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in the Harvey Morse Auditorium, 8700 Beverly Blvd. South Tower, Plaza level. For more information on The IMF or the MYELOMA MOBILE, call (800) 452-CURE or visit www.myeloma.org.
