ACUTE MYELOID
LEUKAEMIA NEWS
CARING FOR
PEOPLE WITH
ACUTE MYELOID
LEUKAEMIA AND
THEIR FAMILIES
MAY 2014
FERTILITY WAS FOREMOST FOR KAYLA DURING
TREATMENT
Where there is great love there are always miracles –
Taylani Jade Schmidt 16.06.2013
Brendan Schmidt had these words tattooed across his
forearm after his wife, Kayla gave birth to Taylani just
14 months after treatment for AML and what seemed an
immaculate conception.
A couple of years earlier, Kayla was feeling extremely tired and
rundown, which she put down to being two months into a new
full-time job and studying psychology at uni in Sydney. Around
that time she went to a psychic.
“I’d always wanted to go – and the first thing she said was ‘oh
love, your blood’s not happy’ and suggested I get it checked,”
said Kayla, 26, now of Brisbane.
She went to the GP, had bloods taken the following week and
started getting concerned when she went back to the GP for
the results.
“He said he was forwarding them to a hospital and marking
them as urgent – my white blood cell count was low. He didn’t
go into much detail and when I asked what this could be, he
said there were a lot of possibilities.”
Kayla waited. After five days, when she didn’t hear back, she got
a copy of her blood results and sent them to a different Sydney
hospital on the weekend. That hospital called first up Monday
morning – she needed to come in to Emergency. Kayla had a
bone marrow biopsy and was diagnosed with AML that afternoon.
“I called the other hospital a couple of days later, told them to
take me off the triage list, that I’d been diagnosed with leukaemia
and would like to make a
complaint. I was polite about
it but stern,” explained
Kayla, who is nothing
if not tenacious. She
didn’t want anyone
else to have a similar
experience.
Continued on page 4...
Kayla and Brendan Schmidt with their treasured Taylani.
1800 620 420
www.leukaemia.org.au
1
TTT-3002 SHOWS PROMISE FOR FLT3 MUTATION
An experimental compound, TTT-3002, is potentially one of
the most potent drugs available to block genetic mutations
in cancer cells blamed for some forms of treatment-resistant
leukaemia.
Results of laboratory-based research by Johns Hopkins Kimmel
Cancer Center (U.S.) investigators, described in the March 6
issue of Blood, show two doses a day of TTT-3002 eliminated
leukemia cells within 10 days. The treatment performed as well
as or better than similar drugs in head-to-head comparisons.
Around 35% of people with AML have a mutation in the gene
FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3). Normal FLT3 genes produce
an enzyme that signals bone marrow stem cells to divide and
replenish. When FLT3 mutates in some AML patients, the enzyme
stays ‘on’ permanently, causing rapid growth of leukaemia cells
and making the condition likely to relapse after treatment.
Many investigators are developing and testing drugs designed to
block the FLT3 enzyme’s proliferation. Several are now in clinical
trials and, so far, their effectiveness has been limited, according
to Dr Donald Small, the Kyle Haydock Professor of Oncology and
director of paediatric oncology at Johns Hopkins. He led a team
of researchers who originally cloned the FLT3 gene and linked it
to leukaemia a decade ago.
“We’re very excited about TTT-3002 because it appears in our
tests so far to be the most potent FLT3 inhibitor to date,” said
Dr Small.
“It showed activity against FLT3-mutated cells taken from
patients and with minimal toxicity to normal bone marrow cells,
making it a promising new candidate for the treatment of AML.”
In a series of experiments with the drug, Dr Small and others
found the amount of TTT-3002 needed to block FLT3 activity in
human leukaemia cell lines was six- to sevenfold lower than for
the most potent inhibitor currently in clinical trials.
TTT-3002 showed activity against the most frequently
occurring FLT3 mutations, FLT3/ITD and FLT3/D835Y. Many
cancer drugs are currently ineffective against these mutations.
Additional studies found TTT-3002 performed as well as
sorafenib (another FLT3 inhibitor) and was toxic to leukaemia
cell samples taken from newly diagnosed and relapsed patients
with AML, but did not affect normal bone marrow cells from
healthy donors.
“A single dose of the medication caused more than 90%
inhibition against FLT3 signaling that lasted for 12 hours,”
Dr Small said.
RADIATION AND GVHD AFFECTS SEXUAL FUNCTION
Research ties preparative procedures and complications
associated with bone marrow transplantation (stem cell
transplantation, SCT) with diminished sexual health in men
and women who have undergone the lifesaving procedure.
Study data, published in Blood, the Journal of the American
Society of Hematology (ASH), confirms chronic graft-versus-host
disease (GVHD) as a potential source of sexual dysfunction and
demonstrated an association between total body irradiation and
sexual dysfunction in men.
This study, one of the longest and the most inclusive to date,
evaluated sexual wellbeing in SCT survivors using rigorous,
well-validated sexual function assessment tools. SCT is an
effective form of treatment for people with AML.
“Thanks to improved transplant survival rates, we have been
able to focus our efforts on examining how the procedure
affects key aspects of recipients’ overall quality of life, including
sexual health,” said lead study author F. Lennie Wong, PhD, of
City of Hope, California.
“Previous findings point to the unfortunate fact that, while
recipients may physically recover, their sexual health might not
rebound as much or as quickly.
“Data has been limited to this point, prompting us to take
a closer look at this issue in a larger, more diverse group
of autologous and allogeneic transplant survivors over an
extended period.”
To further investigate long-term effects of SCT on sexual
health, a team of researchers led by senior author Dr Smita
Bhatia, surveyed 277 adult patients (152 men and 125 women;
median age 48) who underwent SCT for blood cancer between
February 2001 and January 2005 about their sexual activity.
2
Participants completed two questionnaires that evaluated
specific areas of sexual function (sexual cognition/fantasy,
sexual arousal, sexual behavior/experience, orgasm, and drive/
relationship) and sexual satisfaction at a median time of 17
days pre-transplant and at six, 12, 24 and 36 months posttransplant.
A third questionnaire assessed overall health-related quality
of life. Analysis of questionnaire results confirmed previous
studies in demonstrating a definitive impact of SCT on posttransplant sexual activity.
During the three-year post-transplant analysis period, the
percentage of men who self-reported being “sexually active”
(defined as having sex with a partner at least once in the
preceding month) declined 7 percentage points, with 61%
reporting sexual activity pre-transplant and 54% reporting
activity post-transplant. The opposite – a 15 percentage point
increase in sexually active individuals – was observed in
women, with 37% reporting sexual activity pre-transplant and
52% reporting activity post-transplant.
In addition to further crystallising transplantation’s impact on
survivors’ sexual health, study data specifically associated
diminished sexual function and satisfaction with transplantrelated total body radiation in men, and chronic GVHD with
diminished sexual function in men and both sexual function
and satisfaction in women.
Investigators observed an almost 18% decline in sexual function
in men surveyed who had received total body radiation. The
same group also reported an approximate 32% decrease
in sexual satisfaction, a 26% decrease in sexual behavior/
experience, a 26% decrease in quality of orgasm, and 17%
Continued on page 7...
Leukaemia Foundation AML News - May 2014
Research Matters
LATEST RESEARCH PROJECTS INVESTIGATE POOR
OUTCOMES IN AML
The next frontier in treating cancer
is understanding the genetic changes
that make cancer resistant to therapy.
AML is the focus of three research projects that received
funding in the Leukaemia Foundation’s latest round of
annual research grants, announced in March.
Grants-in-aid (funding of $100,000 over 12 months) went to:
• Dr Ian Majewski (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute) for Identifying
mechanisms that prevent leukaemia cells responding to
therapy; and
• Dr Carolyn Grove (University of Western Australia) for The role
of the c-Cbl gene in suppressing the development of leukaemia.
A PhD Scholarship (Clinical) (annual funding of $60,000 from
2014-2017, supported by The Bill Long Charitable Trust, ANZ
Trustees) went to:
• Dr Chen Hsung Edward Chew (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute)
for What are the genetic factors responsible for relapse in acute
myeloid leukaemia?
Continued on page 4 and 5...
$12.89M TO FOUNDATION’S QUEST TO CURE
BLOOD CANCER
In its commitment to a future where blood cancer can
be cured, the Leukaemia Foundation is investing $12.89
million in research over the next five years.
This includes a boost of $3.6 million for 21 additional research
projects in the Foundation’s 2014 round of research funding,
which includes the grants to Dr Ian Majewski, Dr Edward Chew
and Dr Carolyn Grove.
The 2014 tranche builds on the Foundation’s ongoing National
Research Program of 50 research projects that are already in
progress (worth $9.14 million), plus a $150,000 contribution to
the Australasian Leukaemia & Lymphoma Tissue Bank1.
The 2014 research allocation means the Foundation is currently
funding 71 research projects at leading research institutions
across Australia, from 2014-2019. Over the next five years there
also will be considerable further investment in research by
the Foundation, with the addition of each year’s new round of
National Research Program grants and other research funding.
The Leukaemia Foundation makes an annual contribution to the ALLG
Tissue Bank (a total of $1.16 million since 2002).
1
GENE VARIATIONS CONTRIBUTING TO AML RELAPSE
OR REFRACTORY DISEASE
Dr Edward Chew (right) is scanning the DNA of patients with
AML to identify gene variations that contribute to patients with
relapsed or refractory* disease.
Dr Chew is focusing on the ‘good prognosis’ subgroup of AML, which
has disruptions to the core binding factor (CBF) gene.
To understand the genetic factors that contribute to poor outcomes within
this subgroup, Dr Chew is analysing bone marrow samples collected
from 18 patients before and during treatment.
According to Dr Chew, multiple genetic abnormalities acquired
during therapy probably are responsible for ‘good prognosis CBTAML’ developing resistance to chemotherapy.
“To help us predict who will respond poorly to therapy, we’re
identifying the genetic mutations that occur in patients who relapse,”
said Dr Chew.
“This information will allow us to tailor patient treatment accordingly.
Currently a stem cell transplant is considered the definitive treatment
and our findings will help clinicians decide if their patients’ AML will
develop resistance and if a stem cell transplant is recommended.”
Dr Chew is testing the usefulness of the genetic variations he
identifies through an international collaboration with groups that hold
large tissue sample collections. He is optimistic his results will lead
to a new prognostic test for AML in the short-term.
In addition, Dr Chew is characterising the mutated genes he
discovers, to better understand how they give resistance to
leukaemia cells. In the longer-term, these findings could lead to the
development of new therapeutics for AML.
* refractory: no longer responding to standard therapy
PhD Scholarship (Clinical) recipient, Dr Edward Chew.
1800 620 420
www.leukaemia.org.au
3
Research Matters
GENETIC CHANGES AND AML RESISTANCE TO CHEMO
Dr Ian Majewski is identifying genetic changes that allow
AML cells to resist chemotherapy drugs.
In this project, he is analysing DNA and RNA extracted from
cell samples of patients with core binding factor (CBF) AML.
Using a range of techniques, he is comparing the genomes
of patients who respond and those who fail treatment with
the commonly used chemotherapy drugs cytarabine and
fludarabine.
Even with the best available chemotherapy, many patients with
CBF-AML relapse within two years due to resistance, according
to Dr Majewski.
“Thanks to rapid advances in the field of genomics, we know
that cancer cells are highly dynamic, accumulating ongoing
genetic changes that help them to sidestep even the most
advanced therapies,” said Dr Majewski.
“The next frontier in treating cancer is understanding the
genetic changes that make cancer resistant to therapy.
“By identifying the genetic changes and the specific genes that
are associated with poor response to therapy in AML cells we
can develop new prognostic tools for predicting which patients
will have a high risk of failing standard therapy.
“In the longer term, we hope to develop models of therapy
resistance that can be harnessed to discover new treatments
that will overcome therapy resistance.”
Grant-in-aid recipient, Dr Ian Majewski.
Continued from page 1
The weekend before Kayla was due to start chemo, her heart
was set on going to a Jimmy Barnes concert with her sister.
“I had front row seats I’d bought six months earlier, but I ended
up getting a fever and couldn’t go. It sounds silly, but it was one
of the lowest moments of the whole treatment.”
Kayla and Brendan had married earlier that year and the question
foremost in Kayla’s mind was about fertility. After her first round of
chemo, she saw an IVF specialist but attempts to harvest some
of her eggs were unsuccessful. She was told it was unlikely she’d
conceive a child of her own.
“This was a massive blow and I didn’t want to go through with
treatment at that stage. I thought what’s the point – having a
child and being a mum was very important.
“It was only over a couple of days that I was at my lowest. When
my haematologist called and said I needed to come in for my next
round of treatment, I thought, just do it – I don’t care anymore.
“And when I looked at the bag of chemo being infused, I thought
this is destroying any hope of having a baby,” Kayla said.
But later, sitting in the ward, she thought ‘no, I’m a fighter, I’m
going to fight this’.
“I continued having treatment and looked everywhere for
information about fertility rates. I also continued taking birth
control pills and thought positively.”
Kayla went into remission after her second round of chemo.
After her fourth round, she went off the pill and told her
haematologist she couldn’t find any evidence five rounds
of chemo was less effective than six rounds – her planned
regimen.
Kayla and Taylani at the Leukaemia Foundation’s Light the Night
event in Brisbane in October 2013: “I will make it a tradition.”
4
“I wanted as little chemo as possible. We agreed on five
rounds,” said Kayla, who completed her treatment in April 2012
and went back to full-time work that June.
Leukaemia Foundation AML News - May 2014
ASSESSING NEW TREATMENT APPROACHES THAT
ACTIVATE C-CBL GENE
In AML, mutations to the FLT3 gene are strongly
associated with a poor prognosis.
While drugs that target this gene mutation are being trialled,
over time AML cells appear to acquire gene mutations that
allow them to resist the drugs.
Dr Carolyn Grove, whose grant is supported by the Marilyn
David Bequest, is assessing another potential treatment that
could increase the effectiveness of anti-FLT3 drugs. From
preliminary research, Dr Grove has evidence that enhancing
the activity of the c-Cbl gene product could provide a new
treatment approach for patients with AML.
c-Cbl codes for the cell signalling protein CBL and mutations
to this gene also are implicated in AML development.
“We’re using laboratory models to test the possibility of
treating AML with drugs that activate the protein produced by
the c-Cbl gene,” said Dr Grove.
“The results could lead to a new therapeutic approach for
treating myeloid leukaemias, as well as to progressing our
understanding of the crucial signalling changes that promote
and maintain these leukaemias.”
Dr Grove is assessing berberine and arsenic compounds,
which were recently shown to boost the activity of the CBL
protein. In addition, her research team is screening for other
possible therapeutic compounds.
Grant-in-aid recipient, Dr Carolyn Grove.
“My hair was slowly growing back. It was curly and grey. It had
been long, brown and straight, and that’s what I’m going to have,
so I dye it and straighten it.”
When 2013 dawned Kayla said to Brendan – “this year we’re
not going to talk about cancer, we’re going to move on with our
lives, and we’re not going to talk about babies, we’ll travel, save
up for a house and have an awesome life.”
Four days later Kayla found out she was 18 weeks pregnant!
“I took a pregnancy test because I was gaining weight in all the
right areas and I just felt something was different.”
Her initial reaction was absolute shock, but it soon turned to
excitement.
“I called my haematologist and said I wanted a bone marrow
biopsy to check everything was okay. He started talking about a
termination – he wasn’t sure I could handle it mentally. When he
said it would be tough, I said ‘I know, but I’m tougher’, and it was
full steam ahead from there.”
Three weeks after Taylani was born, the Schmidt family moved
to Queensland for a “fresh, clean start”.
“It sounds clichéd, but life excites me. I’m passionate about
cooking, furniture restoration, language, my daughter and husband.
“You get so lost sometimes, especially in technology. I don’t
have facebook, I got rid of it years ago. I go out and experience
life, wholly and fully.
1800 620 420
www.leukaemia.org.au
“Cancer does that to you. It’s changed my perspective 100% and
I’m thankful for it.”
Soon after Kayla’s AML diagnosis, a Leukaemia Foundation
support service coordinator visited her on the hospital ward.
“She would come by and see how I was going and offered
support.
“I felt very isolated when I was in hospital by myself, and it takes
a toll on your family, especially your partner.
“I didn’t meet a lot of people my age to talk to. My advice is
to reach out to others for support. Leukaemia is a different
language and they understand.
“And try and do normal everyday things – go for a walk, find
things that excite you. Definitely don’t try to do uni full-time and
chemo! I used to take my books into the chemo unit, but you lose
your memory. Nothing was sinking in.
“I’m getting my memory back,” said Kayla. She returned to fulltime work in March this year and is studying part-time.
In September 2012, Brendan completed the Tough Mudder
obstacle course event at Glenworth Valley in NSW and raised
$7000 for the Foundation. This year, both Kayla and Brendan
plan to do it together.
“I’m very fitness oriented and it’s a challenge, and who am I to
say no to a challenge!”
5
My Journey
DIANE MISSED A FAMILY WEDDING BUT MET THE CROWN
After her diagnosis with AML in June 2011, Diane
Prettyman’s main concern was attending her son’s
wedding in Fiji on November 9 that year.
But, as it turned out, November 9 was the day she had a bone
marrow transplant in Sydney!
Prior to her diagnosis, Diane’s only symptom was stomach pain.
She thought this was from a gallstone she’d been diagnosed
with in late-2010.
She was rushed to emergency and while awaiting surgery to
remove her gall bladder Diane was told she had a low white
blood cell count.
“This didn’t mean anything to me,” said Diane, 62, of Sydney.
“Later, when I was walking in the ward and saw the ‘Oncology’
sign, I thought I just had the only bed available in the hospital
at the time. And when the doctor said I had leukaemia, it still
didn’t register.
“I called my husband, Roger, to tell him, and he thought leukaemia
was something that could be
controlled with medication, like
diabetes.
After her fourth round of chemo and total body irradiation,
Diane ended up in intensive care the day prior to her transplant,
unbeknown to Roger who had already gone to Fiji for the
wedding.
“He was ready to come straight home, but Lisa had stayed to
look after me.”
Diane describes herself as a happy, positive person.
“When I was diagnosed, I just assumed I’d get better. I never
thought anything else, although I did cry when I was told the first
chemo didn’t work.”
Each time she had a bone marrow biopsy and during other
treatments Diane practiced the breathing and visualisation
techniques she’d been doing each week since she started going
to Tai Chi classes 15 years earlier, while her sons were young.
“It definitely helped – Tai Chi calms me and makes me more
relaxed. I’d visualise myself on the beach at Bulli, the waves
lapping at my feet, the sun rising, and me waving my arms
around with the energy
from the sun going
through my body.
When I was diagnosed, I just assumed I’d get
better. I never thought anything else…
“I didn’t race home and look
AML up on the internet.
Sometimes I think the less I knew, the better off I was. The
doctors know what they are doing.
“All I was worried about was Paul and Katie’s wedding. It was
booked and paid for,” explained Diane, and she already had her
first-ever passport for the occasion.”
Later, Diane found out her other son, Brett’s wife, Lisa, had had a
miscarriage on the same day she was diagnosed with leukaemia.
When Diane didn’t initially respond to chemotherapy, she was
given a second course of treatment that was four times stronger
and a trial drug. This still didn’t bring her leukaemia level down
enough so it was decided that she would have a transplant. Her
younger brother, Tony, was her matched donor.
“The doctors were
amazed I could be
so still. During my first biopsy, when they said they didn’t get
enough (marrow) and had to go in again, I said ‘of course’,
laughed and went back into my breathing and visualisation.”
Diane celebrated her 60th birthday in hospital, on her 33rd
wedding anniversary she had an hour of radiation, and while
recovering after her transplant, she met Mary, the Crown
Princess of Denmark.
“I didn’t know what day it was. I didn’t have any hair and was
wearing the headband I had brought for Katie’s wedding.
The Princess and her entourage were on their way out of the
hospital when I waved at her. She came over and held my hand
while she spoke to me.
“It was amazing and it got around the ward that I’d called her over.”
Diane Prettyman with her family, Paul, Roger and Brett, in March this year.
6
Leukaemia Foundation AML News - May 2014
WN PRINCESS MARY OF DENMARK!
When Diane left the hospital in December 2011, she was still
very ill and could hardly walk.
“As each day went by I got a little bit better. I didn’t go anywhere
until mid-2012. I just really wanted to be careful, to be well and not
mix with other people, to build up my immunity. I didn’t want to be
out in the general community because my counts were so low.
“I did a lot of communicating with friends on the phone.”
After a year’s break, Diane returned to her weekly Tai Chi lessons
and she went back to Sunday mass in September that year.
“I just presume I’m in remission,” said Diane. “My counts are all
normal although I do have too much iron in my blood. This is
the only thing I’m being treated for. I had three venesections last
year and, after a break, have just started them again.”
Diane has chosen not to return to work at the Catholic priory
where she worked part-time, or the volunteer work she also did.
“I feel I’ve done my fair share over the years. It’s time for Roger
and me to be together. We look after our grandson, Matthew,
who was born last year and another grandchild is due in August.
“I’m very happy in my environment, with
my children and grandchild and have no
ambition to travel overseas. I’m being
cautious and don’t want to go too far away
from hospital.
“My advice is to be positive and happy and
have a lot of hope – the chance of survival
is getting better all the time. Of course, you
have moments when you are very low. I
never thought I wouldn’t survive, even when I
was in intensive care.
“Now I’m back to normal and I couldn’t have
done it without Roger. He has been a tower
of strength through all this and he’s come
with me to every Leukaemia Foundation
support meeting. We go each month and
I’ve only missed one since I started going in
January 2012.
“At first, when I was finding my feet and
getting well, I enjoyed the thought that I was
going out and being with other people going
through the same thing.
“There are various guest speakers –
professors, nurses, a dentist, even a Tai Chi
instructor! You can ask questions and get
information about anything you want to know.
Diane and the sign honouring the day she met Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.
“They’re a lovely group of people and we’re
all in the same boat.”
Continued from page 2
decrease in sex drive/relationship since their transplant.
Radiation had no such reported effect in women, an effect
that investigators hypothesise may be explained by inherent
physiologic differences in the development of sexual
dysfunction among men and women.
In addition, investigators observed negative sexual effects
among those surveyed who had experienced chronic GVHD.
Men surveyed who had developed the dangerous posttransplant complication reported a 21% decrease in sexual
cognition/fantasy and a 24% decrease in the quality of orgasm
since their transplant. Similarly, investigators observed a 27%
decline in post-transplant sexual satisfaction among women
surveyed who had experienced chronic GVHD, with survey
respondents also indicating a 27% decline in sexual arousal.
1800 620 420
www.leukaemia.org.au
When compared to men, the women surveyed suffered
significantly worse effects overall, despite the fact that their
sexual activity increased over the three-year survey period.
Investigators concluded that this increase in activity may
be explained by a corresponding improvement in female
psychological quality of life post transplant. The investigators
concluded that nearly half of SCT survivors are sexually
inactive at three years post transplant and suggest that patients
may benefit from speaking with their doctors about sex.
“It is not often that the transplant team and patient will have a
conversation about how this procedure could impact their sex
life, even after recovery; however, we hope these findings will
help encourage patients and their doctors to openly discuss
concerns related to sexual dysfunction and address them with
specialists who can help,” said Dr. Wong.
7
Education & Support
DIARY DATES
NEW SOUTH WALES & ACT
Sydney Metro
1 May
2-4pm
Penrith Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 5 Jun; 3 Jul; 7 Aug)
9 May
10am-12pm
Liverpool Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 13 Jun; 11 Jul; 8 Aug; 12 Sep; 10 Oct; 14 Nov)
10am-12pm
Concord Blood Cancer Education & Support Group (also 13 Jun)
26 May 10am-12pm
St George Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 23 Jun; 28 Jul)
28 May 11am-1pm
Westmead Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 25 Jun; 30 Jul; 27 Aug; 24 Sep; 29 Oct)
23 Jun 2-4pm
Randwick/St George Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
25 Jun 2-3.30pm
Randwick Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 30 Jul; 25 Aug)
27 Jun 10am-12pm
Artarmon Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
Far North Coast
16 May 11am-1pm
Tweed Heads Blood Cancer Information & Support Group (also
20 Jun; 18 Jul; 22 Aug; 19 Sep; 17 Oct; 21 Nov)
21 May 10.30am-12pm
Lismore Cancer Information & Support Group (also 28 Jun;
18 Jul; 30 Aug; 19 Sep; 25 Oct)
7 Jun
11am-1pm
Tumbulgum Blood Cancer Information & Support Group
(also 27 Aug; 29 Oct)
New England
5 May
2-4.30pm
Armidale Blood Cancer Education & Support Group (also 4 Jun)
Tamworth Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
7 May
2-4.30pm
(also 2 Jun)
Mid North Coast
19 May 1-3pm
Port Macquarie Blood Cancer Education & Support Group (also
16 Jun; 21 Jul; 18 Aug; 15 Sep; 20 Oct; 17 Nov)
20 May 11.30am-1pm
Taree Blood Cancer Information & Support Group
(also 22 Jul; 16 Sep)
22 May 10.30am-12.30pm Coffs Harbour Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 26 Jun; 24 Jul; 28 Aug; 25 Sep; 23 Oct; 27 Nov)
Hunter
13 May 11.30am-1pm
Taree Blood Cancer Information & Support Group
(also 19 Aug)
20 May 10am-12pm
Newcastle Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 3 Jun; 5 Aug; 7 Oct; 4 Nov)
10 Jun 11am-1pm
Muswellbrook Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 12 Aug; 14 Oct)
17 Jun 10.30am-12pm
Port Stephens Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 26 Aug; 18 Nov)
13 Nov 11am-12pm
Mudgee Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
Central Coast
27 May 2-3.30pm
Wyong Blood Cancer Education & Support Group (also 24 Jun)
29 May 10-11.30am
Erina Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
Gosford Blood Cancer Education & Support Group (also 26 Jun)
Illawarra & Shoalhaven
6 May
10am-12pm
Wollongong (also 3 Jun; 1 Jul; 5 Aug; 2 Sep; 1 Oct)
West & Far West
3 Jun
10.30am-12pm
Orange Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 5 Aug; 7 Oct; 4 Nov)
4 Jun
10.30am-12pm
Dubbo Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 6 Aug; 8 Oct; 5 Nov)
6 Jun
10.30am-12pm
Bathurst Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
(also 8 Aug; 7 Nov)
Riverina
19 May 11am-12.30pm
Albury Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
2 Jun
11am-12.30pm
Wagga Blood Cancer Education & Support Group
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
8 May 10.30am-12pm
Southern Support Group, Reynella (also 12 Jun; 10 Jul)
20 May 10.30-11.30am
Northern Support Group, Northfield (also 17 Jun; 15 Jul)
26 May 10am-12pm
Barossa Support Group (also 28 Jul)
27 May 10.30-11.30am
Men’s Group (also 28 Jul; 30 Sep)
18 Jun 11am-12pm
Strathalbyn Support Group (also 16 Jul)
27 Jun 10.30am-12pm
RAH Carers’ Support Group (also 25 Jul)
NORTHERN TERRITORY
5 Jun
10-11.30am
Blood Cancer Support Group, Coconut Grove (also; 3 Jul;
7 Aug; 4 Sep)
8
VICTORIA
Melbourne
23 Jul 10.30am-12pm
Mornington Peninsula
5 Aug 10.30am-12pm
Gippsland
12 May 10.30am-12pm
14 May 1.30-3pm
21 May 1.30-3pm
19 Jun
1.30-3pm
Brighton Blood Cancer Support Group
Mornington Blood Cancer Support Group
East Gippsland Education Program, Bairnsdale
South Gippsland Blood Cancer Education Program, Leongatha
(also 9 Jul)
Central Gippsland Blood Cancer Education Program, Traralgon
(also 18 Jun; 16 Jul; 20 Aug)
West Gippsland Blood Cancer Education Program, Warragul
(also 21 Aug)
Grampians
27 May 11am-1pm
Horsham Blood Cancer Support Group (also 29 Jul)
19 Jun 10am-12pm
Ballarat Blood Cancer Education Program (also 21 Aug)
Loddon/Mallee
14 May 10am-12pm
Bendigo Blood Cancer Education Program
12 Jun 10.30am-12.30pm Echuca Blood Cancer Education Program
16 Jun 1.30-3.30pm
Mildura Blood Cancer Support Group (also 18 Aug)
Echuca Blood Cancer Support Group
24 Jul 10-11.30am
19 Aug 11am-12.30pm
Swan Hill Blood Cancer Support Group
Hume
22 May 10am-11.30am
Hume Blood Cancer Support Group
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Perth Metro
19 May 1-2.30pm
Perth Metro Blood Cancer Support Network (also 16 Jun,
Psychosocial strategies to self-care; 14 Jul, The new you)
27 May 4.30-6pm
Bassendean Leukaemia Foundation Accommodation Support
Group (also 30 Jun; 28 Jul)
10 June 10am-12pm
Perth Metro Education Session
Bunbury
21 May 10.30am-12pm
Bunbury Regional Education (also 18 Jun; 16 Jul)
Peel
22 May 10.30am-12pm
Mandurah Blood Cancer Support Network (also 26 Jun,
Cooking class with dietitian Jenny Leyte; 17 Jul, Psychosocial
strategies for self- care, family therapist Rosemary Watkins)
23 May 1-2.30pm
Port Kennedy Blood Cancer Support Network (also 27 Jun; 25 Jul)
QUEENSLAND
8 May 10am
Caring for the Carer, The Role of the Carer, Dutton Park (also 15 May,
Burnout; 22 May, Music Therapy; 29 May, Strategies for Coping)
15 May 10am
Cairns Coffee Cake and Chat
27 May 10am
20 Jun 10am
30 Jul 11.30am
7 Aug
2pm
28 Aug
TASMANIA
Northern Tasmania
13 May 10.30am-12pm
Southern Tasmania
7 May
11am-1pm
Townsville Support & Information Program (also 29 Jul)
Mackay Coffee Cake and Chat
Autologous Transplants. Guest speaker: Catherink Kirk, Dutton Park
Nuts & Bolts of Allogeneic Transplants. Guest speaker,
Dr James Morton, Dutton Park
Caring for the Carer, The Role of the Carer, Dutton Park
Northern Tasmania Blood Cancer & Support Group, Launceston
(also 10 Jun; 12 Aug)
South Tasmania Blood Education Program, Hobart
(also 11 Jun; 25 Jun; 2 Jul; 23 Jul)
NATIONAL TELEPHONE FORUMS
Bone Marrow Transplant telephone forums are held for people in regional
and remote areas and those in metropolitan areas who have difficulty
accessing the Leukaemia Foundation’s regular education activities.
Contact Simone Waterman on 1800 620 420 to find out more and to register.
Visit www.leukaemia.org.au for our latest Education and
Support Program Event Calendar.
Leukaemia
Foundation
Disclaimer: No person should rely on the contents of this publication without first obtaining advice from their treating
specialist.
AML News - May 2014