The International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation (IWMF) has recently announced an exciting new partnership that will help facilitate spreading awareness about Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia (WM), a rare form of blood cancer. This partnership is with PleXus Communications and the ultimate goal of this collaborative effort will be the development and delivery of online, live educational courses for doctors about the disease.
About Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia (WM)
Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, which is also known as lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, is a rare type of blood cancer that affects two types of B lymphocytes, including plasma cells and lymphoplasmacytoid cells. A distinct characteristic of this type of cancer is the presence of a high concentration of IgM antibodies. It is a slow progressing form of blood cancer, and many patients can lead active lives. While it cannot be cured, it is treatable; some patients are able to experience years of remission without symptoms. There are only about 1,500 new cases per year in the U.S. Although it mostly occurs due to sporadic genetic mutations, a family history increases risk. Symptoms include vision loss, headaches, enlargement of the lymph nodes, liver, and spleen, bleeding nose and gums, weight loss, fatigue, and general weakness. To learn more about WM, click here.
Spreading Awareness is Essential
As with many other rare diseases, general knowledge and awareness about WM is sorely lacking. What the average reader may not understand is that this deficiency is not merely a problem among the general public; it is a problem among doctors and other medical professionals as well.
The collaboration between PleXus and the IWMF is uniquely suited to tackle this problem. PleXus is a leading provider of continuing education for medical professionals. These live events will be held at a variety of hospitals and other medical centers all across the US. The instructors for these courses will include some of the leading WM disease researchers.
Patient Worthy would like to congratulate the IWMF on this essential initiative and partnership which has real potential to allow WM patients to be diagnosed much more quickly and as a result improve outcomes for patients overall.
To learn more about the IWMF, click here.
