Governor Proclaims March Myeloma Awareness Month
Celebrating Myeloma Awareness Month at the State Capitol are (from left) G. Richard Smith, Dan Rahn, Gov. Mike Beebe, Bart Barlogie, Roxane Townsend and Peter Emanuel.
Gov. Mike Beebe (center right) declares March as Myeloma Awareness Month in a State Capitol ceremony with UAMS leaders and Myeloma Institute staff.
| In a proclamation recognizing myeloma research and patient care at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Gov. Mike Beebe has declared March 2014 as Myeloma Awareness Month.
Beebe issued the proclamation March 12 in a ceremony at the State Capitol surrounded by UAMS leaders and staff of the UAMS Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, including institute founder Bart Barlogie, M.D., Ph.D.
Myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells of the bone marrow affecting an estimated 77,600 people in the United States. The Myeloma Institute was begun in 1989 and has treated more than 11,000 patients from every state and 58 countries, more than any cancer facility in the world.
Beebe said he is proud of the work done at the Myeloma Institute and tells people everywhere he goes that UAMS provides the best care for the rare cancer.
Also attending the ceremony were University of Arkansas System President Donald R. Bobbitt, Ph.D., and University of Arkansas Board of Trustees member John Goodson.
In addition to Barlogie, UAMS leaders included Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D.; UAMS Medical Center CEO Roxane Townsend, M.D.; Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute Director Peter Emanuel, M.D.; and College of Medicine Dean G. Richard Smith, M.D.
According to the proclamation, the Myeloma Institute has pioneered medicine for myeloma patients through development of medications, bone marrow transplants, imaging technology and classification of genetic information.
The institute has increased the survival rate of patients with low-risk myeloma from three years to more than 10 years, giving patients hope for a prolonged remission, improved quality of life and prospects for a cure for the first time in history.