ST. LOUIS — Former Queer Eye star, and interior designer, Thom Filicia joined Mary Caltrider today via zoom to discuss a rare blood cancer, Myleofibrosis. He is partnering with GSK to help bring awareness to this disease. Mapping Myelofibrosis is a new health education initiative aiming to help those impacted by myelofibrosis (MF) to better navigate this disease. This year marks the 10-year anniversary of Filicia donating bone marrow to his brother, who was diagnosed with MF a few months prior to the transplant. Filicia now looks to use his voice to help raise awareness of this blood cancer, which can be difficult to diagnose and manage.
Myelofibrosis affects nearly 25,000 people in the U.S.. “After my brother’s diagnosis, we didn't understand the magnitude of what he was up against,” said Filicia. "The reality of MF presents unique challenges for each individual, and as my brother overcame this disease, I realized the need to ensure more accessible information and resources. This experience led me to team up with GSK on Mapping Myelofibrosis to continue raising awareness of this complex blood cancer.”
Also joining today's conversation is Dr. Kuykendall who is a hematologist-oncologist specialist. According to Dr. Kuykendall, "Myleofibrosis is a rare disease. People don’t generally understand too much about this disease – it is a rare blood cancer. Your body makes too many red blood cells, an overproduction disease which creates a very inflammatory environment in your bone marrow. Your body can’t make blood cells appropriately. Symptoms include fevers, chills, night sweats, weight loss, and bone pain."
Mapping Myelofibrosis includes the launch of a website featuring educational resources about MF, community stories, and messages from Filicia. In developing the initiative, GSK sought input from the MF community through collaborations with organizations including the MPN Research Foundation (MPNRF) and MPN Advocacy & Education International (MPN A&E).
Explore MappingMF.com to find resources and learn more about myelofibrosis. You can also follow the initiative on Facebook.
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