London hosted the 7th annual EBMT Patient and Family Day on Saturday 6th April as part of the 39th annual meeting of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT).
Organised by a team from Imperial College, London, EBMT and Anthony Nolan, the event gave people with blood cancers and disorders the chance to meet other patients, talk to medical experts and hear about the latest developments in blood and marrow transplantation.
Professor Jane Apperley, EBMT 2013 Congress President and Chair of the Department of Haematology at Imperial College, set the tone for the day when she said: ‘Patients are our focus as they are at the heart of what we do.’ Her talk focused on the importance of patients and families for informing the work of the EBMT and of educating patients to help them cope with the challenges ahead.
A wide range of patients at different stages in their recovery attended the day: those who recently had a transplant and even one lady who shared her experiences, saying: ’30 years ago, I didn't think that I would see my children grow up. Now I have seven grandchildren, which is just amazing. I live every day to its fullest and love spending time with all of my family.’
Leading international experts presented on topics including life after transplant, what’s new in transplantation, state of the art treatment for late effects and how do we find the right donor at the right time.
Jodie McGauley from Folkstone, Kent, attended the day. She was diagnosed with MDS in October 2011 and received her transplant in December. Jodie said: "Even though I've had a transplant already, I've learnt a lot more about the whole process: no one ever sat us down and explained how it all works. It was great to hear other people ask the questions that we wanted to ask but never had the courage to. It was also reassuring to hear that all of my experiences and feelings about the bone marrow transplant were normal and that other people had had similar experiences to me."
Jayne Snell from York gave a presentation about her experiences, particularly about how her family dynamics were affected by her diagnosis with AML and resulting transplant in July 2012. She added: "I hope that by talking about my experiences, I am able to give people hope for the future. It was great to see so many patients and families relating to each others' experiences in a very positive and supportive way."