Campaign Launched to Fund Research for Incurable Blood Cancer; Research could lead to possible cure for multiple myeloma #EndMyeloma, a crowdfunding campaign to raise $200,000 for promising research to treat multiple myeloma, launched on March 1, 2015 thanks to the efforts of OSUCCC – James Community Partner Multiple Myeloma Opportunities for Research and Education (MMORE). “This is a new way of treating cancer, a radically different approach that is the next step in treating cancers. Out with the insane and outlandish idea that you give a poor patient poison, and in with the idea that you infuse a patient with immune soldiers targeted to myeloma,” said Craig Hofmeister, MD, of Ohio State's Comprehensive Cancer Center – James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute and one of the researchers working on the #EndMyeloma research. The money raised by the campaign will expedite getting one promising study from the lab to the clinic within 18 months, instead of several years which is a more typical timeline for new medical research. The new treatment approach uses Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) therapy to harness the power of the patient’s immune system to rid itself of cancer. Initial clinical trials using CAR technology to treat acute lymphocytic leukemia show extraordinary success — 88 percent of patients treated achieved complete remission. MMORE has launched this crowdfunding campaign to run in tandem with Myeloma Awareness Month — the entire month of March. MMORE was founded with the guiding commitment to support medical research that will find effective treatments and a cure for myeloma. Myeloma is an incurable bone marrow cancer affecting nearly 100,000 people in the U.S., with over 24,000 newly diagnosed each year. MMORE hopes to attract fundraisers and donors across the country to participate in the #EndMyeloma campaign. “We decided to do an online crowdfunding campaign because it empowers individuals from around the world –patients, survivors, caregivers, friends and family – to play an active role in funding research that could be curative,” said Nancy Kaufmann, MMORE co-founder. Show your support today. About MMORE MMORE’s deep commitment is to support multiple myeloma research to discover new life-prolonging treatments, improve quality of life for myeloma patients, and ultimately to find a cure. Aligned with National Cancer Institute designated cancer centers, MMORE has nation-wide network of scientific and medical researchers who are aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure. To get more information, visit mmore.org or contact Sarah Kaufmann-Fink at sarah@mmore.org or 206-940-4774.