2nd Annual Patient Advocacy Summit

Posted on August 22, 2013 by MaryO

RARE

Come join us for our 2nd Annual “RARE Patient Advocacy Summit”
to be held on Friday, September 20, 2013
at The Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach, CA.

Register today!

Seating is limited for in-person participation.

Webcast registration available for those unable to attend in person.

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From Symptom to Cure:  The Journey of a Rare Disease Advocate ~ Equipping Patients to Make a Difference

Join Global Genes | RARE Project for a unique and interactive educational experience at our 2nd Annual Patient Advocacy Summit on Friday, September 20, 2013.   There is no charge to participate in this event.

A rare diagnosis changes everything. It crashes plans and dreams, knocks you off your feet, and requires a continual investment of time and money as you try to determine what should be your next step.  The purpose of the RARE Patient Advocacy Summit is to help patient ADVOCATES become successful ACTIVISTS and to provide the discussion, insights and tools to move down this advocacy path, equipped and prepared.

The summit will offer practical advice, case studies and networking opportunities as we learn from one another.  The goal is to have patient advocates walk away with a better understanding of the challenges they will face and where they can be most effective in helping advocate for their disease/disorder.

Attendees will:

  • Learn how to get started: obtain 501c3 status, write grants, leverage PR effectively and utilize social media to spread your message.

  • Collaboration: Understand how to successfully work with other rare disease stakeholders, patient advocates, the FDA and other government entities.

  • Learn the importance of patient registries, the different types of registries and how advocates can support them.

  • Explore the role of foundations and advocates related to scientific discovery and drug development.

  • Gain a broad understanding of the scientific process, including diagnostic and research methodologies and collaborations with academia and industry.

At the end of this day-long event, each participant will gain perspective on the complexities and questions that need to be considered in order to become effective advocates for the rare disease patients and help advance therapies in the rare diseases we represent.

Who Should Attend:
  • Rare disease patients, caregivers, family members and friends
  • Patient advocates

Whether you are new to this rare disease journey or an experienced traveler, an individual advocate or part of an existing rare disease organization, you will gain value from this event.

Register today!

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Hotel and Travel Information

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Sponsor Information

To become a sponsor or for more information, please contact Nicole Boice.  We look forward to seeing you at this year’s summit.

 View videos from our 2012 event.

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Seminar: Putting Patients First

Posted on August 22, 2013 by MaryO

putting-patients

 

September 30, 2013 | 9:30 am – 2:30 pm
W Hotel, 515 15th Street, NW, Washington, DC

How do patients, providers, and payers know whether health information is credible, accurate, useful or appropriate?

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) has the potential to improve health outcomes by helping people make better-informed decisions. But how do we know that CER will generate information that is useful?

You can help us find the answers by joining us on September 30 for a conversation and symposium featuring a broad range of health care stakeholders—patients, providers, policymakers, payers, researchers, and those who fund research. We’ll focus on an effort led by the National Health Council to create a framework to guide the development of CER, evaluate its results, and assist in communicating the findings to the right audiences.

Be a part of the conversation—register today and add your voice to our efforts to make CER useful. Tweet about it using #useCER.

Filed under: adrenal, Cancer, Clinical trials, General Health, Health Care, Meetings and Conferences, pituitary, Rare Diseases | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

In the US? Ask your Member of Congress to join the Rare Disease Congressional Caucus

Posted on May 10, 2013 by MaryO

Help us strengthen the rare disease community’s voice on Capitol Hill!  Please take 3 minutes to ask your Member of Congress to join the Rare Disease Caucus at http://bit.ly/RareAlert.

 

It’s easy – the Action Center has a draft letter that will automatically be sent to your Member of Congress – just put in your name and address & click send.  We also encourage you to personalize the letter to share information about your specific disease.  If your Congress Member is already on the Caucus, the letter will automatically populate as a thank you letter instead – these are just as important to send!

 

It can take up to 10 letters from constituents for a Member to respond so please share this Action Alert with your friends, family & colleagues.  Join our Facebook event & invite your friends:   http://on.fb.me/17Mlpjg

 

The Rare Disease Congressional Caucus will help bring public and Congressional awareness to the unique needs of the rare disease community – patients, physicians, scientists, and industry, and create opportunities to address roadblocks in access to and development of crucial treatments.  The Caucus will give a permanent voice to the rare disease community on Capitol Hill.  Working together, we can find solutions that turn hope into treatments.

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Know Your Number

Posted on April 29, 2013 by MaryO
English: "Dr. Harvey Cushing," oil o...

English: “Dr. Harvey Cushing,” oil on canvas, by the American artist Edmund Tarbell. Courtesy of the Dittrick Medical History Center. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From my email:

As an advocate for patients with Cushing’s disease and their supporters, you certainly understand the importance of continually monitoring cortisol.

April 8th marks Cushing’s Awareness Day and the birthday of Dr. Harvey Cushing, who first described the disease in 1912. We want to use the month of April to bring attention to this disease. In honor of this day, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is kicking off “Know Your Number,” an important new program emphasizing the importance of cortisol regulation.

Being an advocate for those with Cushing’s disease and for those who care for them, you know that even after a successful pituitary surgery, where cortisol levels return to normal, there is still up to a 35% risk the pituitary tumor could begin to grow again, thus causing hypercortisolism. This potential rise in cortisol is also true for patients who are currently taking medication to control their Cushing’s disease. Over time, this control may begin to diminish. These important facts make it essential that your members are aware of the need to monitor their cortisol level.

Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation is initiating an important new program, and we would like to partner with Cushing’s Help and Support to bring this information to your membership and to all patients with Cushing’s disease. “Know Your Number” reminds both endocrinologists and patients that hypercortisolism can have devastating consequences on a patient’s body and emotions. “Know Your Number” promotes follow-up cortisol testing to help identify those patients whose cortisol levels have increased.

Please reach out to your membership with this message during the month of April as we celebrate Dr. Harvey Cushing’s birthday.

To learn more about this program and Cushing’s disease, and to download a discussion guide, please visit www.CushingsDisease.com

Know Your Number.

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Early Detection, Treatment Needed To Reduce Risk Of Death, Cardiovascular Disease In Cushing’s Disease Patients

Posted on February 20, 2013 by MaryO

Even after successful treatment, patients with Cushing’s disease who were older when diagnosed or had prolonged exposure to excess cortisol face a greater risk of dying or developing cardiovascular disease, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Cushing’s disease is a rare condition where the body is exposed to excess cortisol – a stress hormone produced in the adrenal gland – for long periods of time.

Researchers have long known that patients who have Cushing’s disease are at greater risk of developing and dying from cardiovascular disease than the average person. This study examined whether the risk could be eliminated or reduced when the disease is controlled. Researchers found that these risk factors remained long after patients were exposed to excess cortisol.

“The longer patients with Cushing’s disease are exposed to excess cortisol and the older they are when diagnosed, the more likely they are to experience these challenges,” said Eliza B. Geer, MD, of Mount Sinai Medical Center and lead author of the study. “The findings demonstrate just how critical it is for Cushing’s disease to be diagnosed and treated quickly. Patients also need long-term follow-up care to help them achieve good outcomes.”

The study found cured Cushing’s disease patients who had depression when they started to experience symptoms of the disease had an elevated risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease. Men were more at risk than women, a trend that may be explained by a lack of follow-up care, according to the study. In addition, patients who had both Cushing’s syndrome and diabetes were more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.

The study examined one of the largest cohorts of Cushing’s disease patients operated on by a single surgeon. The researchers retrospectively reviewed charts for 346 Cushing’s disease patients who were treated between 1980 and 2011. Researchers estimated the duration of exposure to excess cortisol by calculating how long symptoms lasted before the patient went into remission. The patients who were studied had an average exposure period of 40 months.

The findings may have implications for people who take steroid medications, Geer said. People treated with high doses of steroid medications such as prednisone, hydrocortisone or dexamethasone are exposed to high levels of cortisol and may experience similar conditions as Cushing’s disease patients.

“While steroid medications are useful for treating patients with a variety of conditions, the data suggests health care providers need to be aware that older patients or those who take steroid medications for long periods could be facing higher risk,” Geer said. “These patients should be monitored carefully while more study is done in this area.”

From http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/256284.php

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