Support

New Program to Honor BMT Survivors and Caregivers

The nbmtLINK is preparing to launch a new program, Celebrating Second Birthdays, which will acknowledge and honor the BMT survivor on his or her transplant anniversary with a specially designed card. Since survivorship issues, both physical and emotional, often continue for years after transplant, we will include the following resource information for both BMT survivors and their caregivers:

• nbmtLINK’s chronic Graft vs. Host Disease Telephone Education and Support Group   
• NMDP’s Living Now newsletters
• CIBMTR’s A Guide to Protecting Your Health After Transplant
• nbmtLINK’s recently updated Caregivers’ Guide for Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant: Practical Perspectives
• Valuable BMT resources from other organizations/institutions

This program will focus attention on the ongoing needs of transplant survivors and their caregivers and create a community that understands the importance of this “second birthday.”   If you or someone you love would like to be recognized, please contact Cindy Goldman at 800-546-5268 or email cindygoldman@nbmtlink.org.

Telephone Education and Support Group for
Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant Survivors:
Coping with Chronic Graft versus Host Disease

• Facilitated by Sandra Mitchell, PhD, CRNP, AOCN and Kate Castro, RN, MS, AOCN from the National Institutes of Health.
• Four Week Sessions for 8-10 Survivors
• Next group starts in Spring 2009
• No charge for participation

Week 1: Overview of Chronic Graft versus Host Disease
Week 2: Understanding and Living with Chronic Graft versus Host Disease
Week 3: Exploring Options for Improving Health and Well-Being
Week 4: Facing Forward: Developing Your Personal Plan for Managing Chronic Graft versus Host Disease and Living Well

For additional information or to register, please call:
Tiffany Rowe at 800-LINK-BMT (800-546-5268) or email: tiffanyrowe@nbmtlink.org

Sponsored by the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link
With support from The Leukemia &  Lymphoma Society, Michigan Chapter and Amgen Inc.

Reassurance, Understanding, and Support when you
need them the most.

“Peer Support on Call” is a free service offered by the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link. Emotional support is available through one-on-one conversations with trained peer support volunteers who are bone marrow/stem cell transplant survivors, caregivers and marrow donors. Since they have been through the transplant experience themselves, they understand the patient’s and caregiver’s feelings and can provide an empathetic point of view. For patients and caregivers, peer support is only a phone call away. If you would like to request a phone call from a peer support volunteer, please click here or call our office at 800-LINK-BMT (800-546-5268).

In-person Bone Marrow/Stem Cell Transplant
Discussion and Information Group (Detroit Metro area only)

WHO
People who will be having or have had a bone marrow/stem cell transplant, caregivers, friends and family members.
WHAT
A chance to meet with others who share similar challenges. Discussion will be facilitated by a transplant social worker and transplant nurse coordinator. A wide range of topics will be covered.
WHEN
7-8:30 p.m., fourth Tuesday of the month
WHERE
nbmtLINK Office
20411 W. 12 Mile Road, Suite 108 -- use East entrance
(south side of 12 Mile Rd. between Evergreen and Lahser Roads)
Southfield, MI
HOW
Call 800-LINK-BMT (800-546-5268) or 248-358-1886 to confirm your attendance. Please leave your name and phone number.

Sponsored by the National Bone Marrow Transplant Link, in cooperation with Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Henry Ford Transplant Institute, The J.P. McCarthy Foundation, Karmanos Cancer Center, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Michigan Chapter, Lula C. Wilson Trust, and William G. & Myrtle E. Hess Charitable Trust.