Due to the coronavirus global health pandemic we are all facing now, and out of concern for the health and safety of the worldwide community of WM patients, families, caregivers, and medical professionals, the IWMF has cancelled the 2020 Education Forum that was scheduled to take place in Renton, Washington from June 5-7.
We are currently exploring alternative options for the event activities that were to occur this year, and will update you further as the situation evolves.
We will soon be sending a separate communication to everyone who has previously registered for the Education Forum. In the meantime, we urge you to please cancel any hotel or flight arrangements you might have made for this activity.
This has been an incredibly difficult decision, as the Educational Forum has been a signature annual event for 25 years, and this will be the first time that we’ve had to cancel this unique opportunity to hear from and meet with leading researchers, clinicians, and fellow WMers from around the world.
At this time, we do still plan to have Ed Forums in future years, and look forward to seeing everyone in person at the following dates and locations for 2021 and 2022:
- May 21-23, 2021 at the Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark in St. Louis, MO. As the name implies, the hotel is right at the ballpark where the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team plays and right next to the famous St. Louis Arch.
- June 24-26, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency Lake Washington, Renton, Washington. The IWMF worked hard to reschedule the event to a future year at this same exciting location near Seattle!
Rest assured, the IWMF remains focused on our mission of supporting and educating everyone with Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia while advancing the search for a cure.
For the latest updates on the coronavirus, we encourage everyone to review the following:
- WHO (World Health Organization)(link is external) – advice for the public, protective measures, etc.
- U.S. CDC (Centers for Disease Control)(link is external) – information about, and ways to protect yourself against, the coronavirus.
- LLS (Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)(link is external) — Dr. Gwen Nichols, the Chief Medical Officer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the U.S. (and frequent speaker at the IWMF Ed Forum), posted a useful list of FAQs with responses to help blood cancer patients adjust to the new normal as the coronavirus continues to spread globally.
- LRF (Lymphoma Research Foundation)(link is external) – understanding COVID-19 and how it impacts lymphoma patients.
In this time of global crisis, the IWMF wishes to extend its concern and support to everyone around the world who is affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Our hope continues to be for a speedy and effective resolution.
Carl Harrington
IWMF Board Chair
Newton Guerin
IWMF President & CEO