Welcome to September. We hope you are enjoying the change in temps and are ready for a wonderful fall. We have been busy developing new programs and look forward to offering these to you and yours.

First, we're excited to share Season 14 of

Marrow Masters with you.

This season focuses on chronic Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD)—the parts we don’t often talk about but need to. We cover ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­male and female sexuality and atypical presentations of chronic GVHD. We share a patient and caregiver perspective related to cGVHD and take a deep dive into the psychosocial and emotional struggles of those with this rare and sometimes debilitating disease. This season will offer survivors insight, compassion and answers to often not discussed subjects. More on this season below.

To listen to the trailer for Season 14, click here:

Check out Marrow Masters!

Learn more about Season 14 by clicking here:

New Webinar: Owning Your Survivorship Plan Post Allogeneic Transplant

We have a new, free webinar to tell you about. It will focus on Survivorship The date is Oct. 9, 2024, from Noon to 1:30 pm EST. Note the time zone. More below.

To register, click here:

Lunch & Learn

with the LINK

A Telephone Support CALL IN Program for Patients,

Families/Caregivers/Loved Ones

The Practical Needs Before,

During and After Transplant

with a Focus on Self Care and

Self Awareness

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

NOON EST (one hour)

To register for free, click here: 

To ask a question during the Q & A portion of this program, once the operator says the lines have been opened, hit the star key on your phone and then the number 1. Please address yourself when asking a question in the best way to protect your identity if desired. 

This month’s call-in program will recognize Blood Cancer Awareness

Month with a focus on the practical needs before, during and

after a bone marrow/stem cell transplant. This conversation will

be helpful to both survivors and caregivers. Julie Larson, LCSW a

psychotherapist and speaker-educator who has spent the entirety

of her career working with survivors and family members will join us

to share strategies for sharpening self-awareness, normalizing the

understandable stressors felt along the way and tips for finding calm

and clarity. Stephenie Perry, a survivor of Hodgkin lymphoma, who

underwent both an auto and allogeneic transplant will share her story

and best tips. Jennifer Gillette, our licensed staff social worker, will

host this call. There will be plenty of time for live questions.

If you have any technical issues related to registering, please email, peggyburkhard@nbmtlink.org or call (248) 770-5172. The call-in information is contained in the form you use to register. Note: YOU call in to participate. (We do not call you.)



This FREE program is intended to provide psychosocial and emotional

support along with health information from national experts regarding

critical topics surrounding cancer and treatments.

This program is recorded and available on our website

one week after airing live, www.nbmtlink.org.

Special Thanks To Our Sponsors: 

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Johnson & Johnson and Incyte

We also thank our Esteemed Link Partners, listed at the end of this newsletter. 

You're Invited to the 7th International Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease Symposium in Vancouver, Canada

Oct. 16-17, 2024

(Registration is available in person and virtual)

We are excited to be a part of this symposium and share this info. The 7th International Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease (cGVHD) Symposium will take place in Vancouver, Canada, at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre.

This marks the first time this prestigious international event will be held in North America, after being hosted exclusively in Zagreb, Croatia since its inception in 2013.

We're proud to participate and tell you about three dedicated sessions for patients, families, and caregivers living with cGVHD:

• Patient-Reported Outcomes and Their Impact on Care: A session for both healthcare professionals and the patient community, focusing on how patient-reported outcomes shape care strategies.
• GVHD Alliance Lunchtime Session: Learn about the GVHD Alliance, a collaborative effort among North American patient advocacy groups, including BMT InfoNet, nbmtLINK, and LLS. For more information, visit www.gvhdalliance.org.
• “GVHD Throughout the Ages”: This session features presentations from patients and caregivers across different age groups (pediatric, adolescent and young adult, and adult) along with a panel of healthcare professionals to discuss effective strategies and solutions for improved care.

Additionally, join us for a Patient and Family Community Networking Session, designed to help attendees connect and build lasting relationships.

While you are welcome to attend all sessions, please note that many of the two-day program’s sessions will be highly scientific. Some content may be complex for those without a medical background.

To learn more, click here:

2024 National GvHD Symposium

Friday, September 27th, 2024

The Assembly / Pittsburgh, PA

Join us for the 12^th annual Graft versus Host Disease Symposium on Friday, September 27th at The Assembly, located in Pittsburgh, PA.

This year’s symposium is a collaboration between the Meredith A. Cowden Foundation, UPMC, OSU, and Cleveland Clinic.

This symposium is the only event of its kind that focuses exclusively on GvHD. It brings together physicians, medical professionals, and patients and covers many topics including clinical care, educational best practices, and emerging research.

We hope that you can join us for this exciting symposium!

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:

“Lifestyle Modifications for Thriving after BMT”

Mladen Golubic, MD, PhD / UC Health

Mladen Golubic, MD, PhD, has worked in the fields of immunogenetics and molecular and cancer biology, contributing to understanding interactions between the environment and our genes. His clinical work focuses now on lifestyle-related chronic diseases.

As an internist, Dr. Golubic has practiced and directed educational and research activities within integrative and lifestyle medicine since 2009 with a group of exceptional lifestyle medicine professionals (dietitians, chefs, yoga instructors, exercise physiologists, meditation teachers, etc.) within the Wellness Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.

To register for free for the Cowden Symposium, click here:

Get your FREE Bag It bag, thanks to support from Incyte. For a limited time, you can order a FREE GVHD bag which contains valuable resources from Bag It and nbmtLINK.

To order your free bag, click here

Please use the code GVHD24