Jazz Pharmaceuticals, with help from the Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) Foundation and the Cancer Support Community, has launched Find the Right Fit, an initiative providing educational resources about MDS and secondary acute myeloid leukemia (sAML).
An initiative goal is to help people recently diagnosed with sAML, by provide the up-to-date information necessary for proper treatment decisions.
“Find the Right Fit was created with the understanding that an sAML diagnosis can be overwhelming, but that education can help inform optimal treatment plans that work best for each individual patient,” Kim Sablich, executive vice president and general manager of North America at Jazz Pharmaceuticals, said in a press release.
People newly diagnosed with sAML and related blood disorders like MDS have few resources focused on disease education and managing daily life, the company notes.
sAML is considered to be a subtype of AML, and it accounts for roughly 30% of all AML cases. It is called secondary, because its developments follows a diagnosis of MDS or another type of cancer.
The disease has two main subtype: therapy-related AML (t-AML), or AML that occurs as a result of chemotherapy or radiation therapy; and AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC), or AML that occurs when a person has abnormal bone marrow cells due to another blood disorder.
As the causes for sAML are varied, treatment plans must consider its precise origin, requiring an individualized approach to treating sAML.
The Find the Right Fit website offers educational resources that can help to inform an sAML patient’s treatment plan. The homepage offers general information about the condition, answering questions that a new patient may have.
Overall, Find the Right Fit provides a number of resources, including patient stories, detailed information about sAML, an overview of treatment options, and guides to navigating the disease, including how to discuss sAML with a healthcare provider, a glossary of sAML terminology, and a Q&A sheet for caregivers.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, which specializes in treating blood and other cancers, developed and markets Vyxeos (daunorubicin and cytarabine), an approved treatment for newly diagnosed sAML patients with either main subtype of this disease: t-AML and AML-MRC.
“With 16 years of experience at the MDS Foundation, I understand how overwhelming a cancer diagnosis can be for a family,” said Tracey Iraca, executive director of the MDS Foundation. “The foundation is proud to partner with Jazz on the launch of Find the Right Fit – Navigating sAML, to help provide patients with vital information to navigate a rare disease diagnosis.”