DR. RUBEN MESA FEATURED IN RARE DISEASES REPORT MAGAZINE

Dr. Ruben Mesa, longtime friend and collaborator of MPN Research Foundation, sat down with Krista Rossi from Rare Disease Report at ASCO 2018 to discuss his views on the current climate of myeloproliferative neoplasms and other rare cancers. Dr. Mesa provided updates on emerging innovations, discussed the greatest obstacles facing the treatment of rare diseases and his support for working as a team when treating myeloproliferative neoplasms.

As the Director of Mays Cancer Center in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Mesa knows that teamwork is vital in the treatment of MPNs. For the reason that many rare diseases may require multiple specialists and physicians, cooperation amongst the patient, their caregivers and their care team is crucial in managing their disease. According to Dr. Mesa, “There is some guess work involved; there is some use in experience; and there is trying to pull information in a collaborative way, a team-based way around the world as best we can so we can fill in those other pieces as quickly as we can.

Collaboration among physicians, specialists, researchers, advocacy groups and other institutions are also very important. Advocacy groups like MPN Research Foundation help provide the MPN community with as many valuable resources as possible. “There’s an educational need,” said Dr. Mesa. “When you have a rare disease, the difficulty is getting good information and understanding what it really means because rare diseases don’t tend to be diseases that are in the social discussion.”

Please click here to read the full article in Rare Diseases Report.