Pennies For Patients - Between January 2 and February 28, 2009, local New York schools will be participating in Pennies for Patients, a fundraiser supported by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).  Students are encouraged to collect donations, and schools may raise funds in honor or in loving memory of local blood cancer patients.  Funds donated support the LLS’s local blood cancer research and patient aid services.  For more information, please visit the LLS Web site.

BRATS New Years …

Diana Krall will host a fundraiser for blood cancer patients on February 16, 2009. Diana will be joined by special guests Elton John, Diana’s husband Elvis Costello, and James Taylor at the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver. This invitation-only charity benefit will raise funds for the Vancouver General Hospital and University of British Columbia Hospital Foundation.  These funds will be used towards bettering patient care and innovative research at British Colombia’s Leukemia and Bone Marrow Transplant …

On Monday, the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC) awarded the 2008 MMRC Center of the Year Award to the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dr. Andrzej Jakubowiak, director of the Multiple Myeloma Program at the university.

The award recognizes a MMRC member institution that displays exceptional efforts in the number of clinical trials initiated and the speed in which the trials were opened. Also taken into account is the number of patients enrolled in clinical trials within the …

Honolulu Marathon – The Team in Training, which is part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), is raising money and competing on behalf of the LLS in the Honolulu Marathon on December 14. Events include a pleasant nine hour course and a 10K race. The Honolulu Marathon is considered one of the largest and most scenic marathons in the world.  Its course includes locations such as Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head, and Koko Head Craters. …

The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) held its second annual Comedy Celebration benefiting The Peter Boyle Memorial Fund on Saturday in Los Angeles, California.

Peter Boyle was an Emmy Award-winning actor and was most recently well-known as the father, Frank Barone, on the CBS show Everybody Loves Raymond. Fellow cast members Ray Romano, Doris Roberts, and Patricia Heaton were among the guests at this year's benefit.

The Peter Boyle Memorial Fund was started by his family in 2006 after his …

Folic acid (vitamin B9), vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 are thought to play a role in preventing cancer and heart disease.

However, researchers at Harvard Medical School recently showed women who have a high risk of heart disease did not improve their risk of developing cancers, such as multiple myeloma, after taking the vitamins.

The study participants received a daily combination of folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 or placebo for more than 7 years between …

Prolexys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. raised $20 million from an investment by Friedli Corporate Finance. The investment will allow for Prolexys Pharmaceuticals to continue research on a unique molecule called PRLX 93936.

PRLX 93936 is significant to multiple myeloma patients because of its vigorous and selective anti-tumor activity. The drug shows promising action in disease models such as those of multiple myeloma and other cancers with less medical treatments and options.

Currently, PRLX 93936 is in Phase 1 study, …