I have just heard that Jerry Mayfield- the founder of http://newcmldrug.com/ died yesterday, apparently from causes unrelated to CML.
Jerry was one of the first - if not the first- patients to be treated with dasatinib and set up his support site sometime in 1999. Jerry was very supportive when we set up the CML Support Group website. In the last few years he was the 'poster boy' for ponatinib. His forum helped a lot of people share information regarding TKI therapies and access- particularly in North America, but also further afield.
Below is a snip from Jerry's home page which explains a little history for those of you who night not be aware of where he 'sits' in the story of CML and TKI therapy.
"My name is Jerry Mayfield. I am married to Karen, my wife of the last 40+ years. I was 50 years old when diagnosed with CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia) in March of 1999. I am a retired Louisiana State Trooper having spent 21 years with the Louisiana State Police. I have been a computer enthusiast since the early 1980s.
In the days following my diagnosis, I had many questions about CML and my future. Mainly, I wanted to know my treatment options and how long I could expect to live. My doctor said that the only possible cure was a bone marrow transplant and a transplant was possible only if I found a suitable (matched) bone marrow donor. He also said that I had a 40% chance of dying from the transplant procedure itself and that if I made it through the transplant, I had a 50% chance of being cured. Thankfully, those odds have dramatically improved for today's transplant patients. He said that I had two other treatment options, hydrea and interferon. With Hydrea, I could expect fairly few side effects but it only controls the white blood cell count and does nothing to stop the progression of the CML. With hydrea, I could expect maybe two and a half to three and a half years on average. With Interferon, I could expect to live longer, if I respond well, but the side effects are very bad. Basically, most patients feel like they have the flu all of the time. My next question was, "Are there any experimental drugs being tested?" His answer was "No." Well, being the "computer geek" that I am, the first thing I did was to search the Internet for answers. Within a few days, I found an on-line CML discussion group that was discussing a new and innovative "targeted" drug that had started trials about 9 months earlier and was showing very promising results. It was called by the experimental drug name "STI-571" later to be named Gleevec in the U.S.A. and Glivec in other countries. It turned out to be a revolution in the treatment of cancer being the first cancer drug that targeted cancer cells while leaving normal cells intact. It would change the way that CML is treated and open the era of targeted therapy in cancer treatment. The rest is history....."
Jerry will be missed by many in the global CML community.
On behalf of the CML Support Group and all its members I send our deep condolences to Jerry's wife Karen Mayfield.
http://nationalcmlsociety.org/celebrate-my-life/jerry-mayfield
Sandy