What is a “Drug Access Navigator” (DAN)?

An oncology DAN is someone who investigates and coordinates funding for a patient’s prescribed drug therapy. The oncology DAN examines all possible options for funding and takes some of the burden off patients in coordinating this part of their care.  The focus of the oncology Drug Access Navigator is to coordinate funding for those drugs not funded through the hospital formulary.  (And remember, every province has a different formulary, listing drugs that it covers.) Each DAN stays up to date on drug plan submission processes, temporary drug release programs, and financial assistance options.  Their role is to keep both the patient [...]

With your kind donations and in partnership with the IWMF, the WMFC has committed $100,000, over two years, towards each of the following major WM research projects: Following our support of Dr. Zachary Hunter’s previous successful research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard University we are now supporting another.  Dr. Hunter is looking ever more closely at the inner workings of WM with a study of the different versions of WM-related genes (called isoforms), finding new versions and studying how these genes evolve in WM.  It’s a two year US$480,000 project. For the first time we have an opportunity to [...]

In partnership with the IWMF, we are thrilled to make available to you two booklets that are part of the Global Initiative for education of both patients and physicians, worldwide. And through the generosity of educational grants from BeiGene and Janssen, printed copies have been put in the mail to our WMFC members (as of about Nov. 1, 2023).  And we will continue sending out copies to new members as long as our supplies last! Of course, you can download and print your own copies using the links below. The first booklet, Essential Information: A Patient's Guide, answers the questions you [...]

This time of year, the presentations at the ASH (American Society of Hematology) Conference become available.  Remembering that conference presentations do not go through a full peer review (unlike journal articles), they do give us an idea of what research is being done, and what kinds of results are being seen. You can access 75 items that mention the word "macroglobulinemia", here.  We're not suggesting you investigate all of them, but they are certainly available for your perusal. There are three in particular, though, that you may find of note. This paper is an interim report on our Canadian BRAWM trial, [...]

Your editors recently acquired access to an older version of ChatGPT (3.5, if anyone is tracking these things).  Being of an inquiring mind, they gave the system the following instructions: "Always assume the request or question is asked in the context of Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia (WM). You will respond with information about Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia. This information must be based on the latest science and research." Then, of course, they told it "Write me a poem". Offered for your amusement, this was the result.  (And our apologies to the French translators!) In the realm of Waldenstrom's reign, A tale of cells that [...]