Novartis builds CML community

BASEL, Switzerland CMLalliance.com and CMLearth.com—both powered by Novartis Oncology.—Chronic myeloid leukemia includes among its ranks NBA’s all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who partnered with Novartis Oncology in November in promoting two valuable online resources in contending with the disease:

CML Alliance offers helpful disease education and information about how treatments work to fight this cancer, the testing that is done to monitor treatment response and information on reimbursement support. CML Earth, launched in December 2008, is a unique interactive social networking Web site that allows CML patients to connect with one another across the globe. The evolving community helps patients find and connect with other patients of similar interest, as well as tell inspirational stories and receive support from the broader public. The site also offers patients a valuable resource by connecting them to patient advocacy groups for further support.

“I’m telling my story to encourage fellow patients to take charge of their health—work closely with your doctor, monitor your disease and treatment responses through regular blood level testing, and, above all, take your medicine,” Abdul-Jabbar stated in a Nov. 10 press release.

Both CML Alliance and Abdul-Jabbar in his capacity as “CML patient and advocate” have Facebook fan pages, as well.