About Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma is an incurable blood cancer. The five-year relative survival rate for multiple myeloma is approximately 38 percent, one of the lowest of all cancers. In 2012, more than 20,000 adults in the United States will be diagnosed with multiple myeloma and nearly 11,000 people are predicted to die from the disease.
About the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) was established in 1998 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization by a close friend, Kathy Giusti and her twin sister Karen Andrews, soon after Kathy's diagnosis with multiple myeloma. At first their goal was to help stimulate the development of treatments that would help Kathy live to see her daughter, then one year-old, grow up. At that time, the average live expectancy of a newly diagnosed patient was 3 years. Kathy's daughter is now in her Freshman year of college and her son, born after her diagnosis, is now a sophomore in high school.
The mission of the MMRF is to relentlessly pursue innovative means that accelerate the development of next-generation multiple myeloma treatments to extend the lives of patients and lead to a cure. As the world's number-one private funder of multiple myeloma research, the MMRF has raised over $200 million since its inception and directs 90% of total budget to research and related programming. As a result, the MMRF has been awarded Charity Navigator's coveted four four-star rating for nine consecutive years, the highest designation for outstanding fiscal responsibility and exceptional efficiency. For more information about the MMRF, please visit: www.themmrf.org.
The MMRF model is an end-to-end solution that accelerates drug development and gets novel and effective treatments to patients at a pace virtually unparalleled in oncology. In less than 10 years, the MMRF has spearheaded research and broken down barriers that have resulted in 5 new drugs that extend the lives of patients. In just one decade, the life expectancy of a multiple myeloma patient has more than doubled. To learn more about MMRF, please visit their website or connect with them on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
Kathy Giusti, founder and CEO of the Multiple Myeloma Research foundation with Nick Tiller at Veteran's Memorial Park in Norwalk, CT, site of the Connecticut Cal Ripken baseball tournament.