June 2021:

  • Introducing the New Canadian WM Blog
  • Join the IWMF
  • Research Month: Wow!
  • The new WMFC Board of Directors

 

Canadian WM Blog
The Editorial Group of the WMFC is pleased to present the first in a series of Blog posts on topics of interest to Canadian WM patients.  Whether it is new treatment options, status of drug approvals, clinical trial results or how your research money is being spent, we will do the research and provide to you a clear and concise report on the topic.

We start the series with a focus on an important Clinical Trial in Canada for WM (and the first such Canadian trial for a long time), being conducted by Dr Berinstein of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre.  We discuss who qualifies to participate in this trial, what drugs are being used (including the BTK inhibitor Acalabrutinib), and what this clinical trial hopes to achieve.

To access the Blog, click on this link: https://www.wmfc.ca/education/wm-in-canada/

Should you have any questions, or feedback on this article, or suggestions for a topic you’d like to learn more about, please send us a note at wm.in.Canada@wmfc.ca.

Join the IWMF
The WMFC has a long history of association with the International Waldenstrom’s Macroglobulinemia Foundation (the IWMF) in the US, as it is the most effective WM patient support and advocacy organization in the world.  There is no cost to join and they offer numerous benefits including the quarterly Torch Magazine, a wide expanse of research and educational material on WM, receiving advance notice of all upcoming IWMF podcasts, and access to an extensive library of the previously recorded podcasts from leading WM experts in the world on a variety of topics.

Due to privacy concerns, the WMFC can no longer share your name to the IWMF, so we encourage all WMFC members to join the IWMF.  You can do so by clicking here: https://iwmf.com/join-the-iwmf/.

Research Month has been a Fabulous Success
Our annual Research Month was a huge success this year.  Thank you for all your support.  We are appreciative of having had donors give so generously to the WMFC.  Together with Paul’s “10Km a Day in May”, Elsebeth’s challenge to support her 10Km each day, and general support for Research Month, we raised $55,000 for research that the WMFC is undertaking.

This is one of the WMFC’s most financially successful special events, and it also raised the awareness of WM.

The New WMFC Board of Directors
Effective the May 19, 2021 Annual General Meeting, the following Directors were voted in by the Trustees:

 Name                    Position  Province of Residence 
 Cameron Fraser  Board Chair  Alberta
 Betty McPhee  Vice Chair  Ontario
 Andrew Beacom  Treasurer  Ontario
 Raffaela Mercurio  Secretary  Ontario
 Dave Johnston  Board member  Ontario
 Paul Kitchen  Board member  New Brunswick
 Joe Lewicki  Board member  British Columbia
 Daniel Zlatin  Board member  Ontario

Cam Fraser
WMFC Board Chair