frits van rhee


January 13, 2022

First Myeloma Center Patient Receives Revolutionary New Therapy, Responds Well

Linda Haymes

Dave and Lori Puente of Elk Grove, California. Dave Puente is the first myeloma patient in Arkansas to receive new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy treatment, which is only available at the UAMS Myeloma Center in the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute.

Dave Puente of Elk Grove, California, became the first myeloma patient in Arkansas to receive the new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Myeloma Center, the only medical facility in Arkansas currently offering the cutting-edge treatment.


March 22, 2021

Friends Travel Miles, Bring Smiles as Myeloma Patient Begins Treatment

Linda Haymes

Friends of myeloma patient Christie Mink, 51, of Jonesboro traveled to UAMS in Little Rock to welcome her and her husband Jeffery in an emotional display of support.

On her first day of treatment at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Myeloma Center, Christie Mink returned from a lunch break with husband Jeffery to find one sweet treat awaiting her just outside the doors of the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute. Eight friends, all wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with “Her fight…


December 7, 2020

UAMS Physician Establishes Second International Guidelines for Treating Castleman Disease

Linda Haymes

“Castleman disease is rare so people don’t know how to treat it and until recently there has not been any systematic approach to unicentric Castleman disease,” said Frits van Rhee M.D., Ph.D., an international expert on Castleman disease. “These guidelines are meant to give treating physicians a framework for the diagnosis and treatment of UCD.”

LITTLE ROCK — Frits van Rhee, M.D., Ph.D., a myeloma researcher and clinician at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), was lead author on a recently published paper that establishes consensus diagnosis and treatment guidelines for a form of Castleman disease, a rare disorder of the lymph nodes and related tissues. The recommendations…


May 8, 2020

Myeloma Center, Patient Power Host Webinar for Patients Across Nation and World

Linda Haymes

A recent live online town hall, held in conjunction with Patient Power, featured UAMS Myeloma Center physicians, nurses and social workers who shared information with 340 myeloma patients from across the nation and world.

A recent live online town hall featuring UAMS Myeloma Center physicians, nurses and social workers shared information with 340 myeloma patients from across the nation and world. “Creating Your Own Myeloma Roadmap: From Diagnosis to Survivorship” was originally scheduled to be held both in person and online, but was changed to be held through a…


April 7, 2020

Louisiana Matriarch Leans on Faith, Family, Friends in Fighting Myeloma

Linda Haymes

“I was just so thankful I had a place that I could come to for help,” says Lessie Credeur of Sunset,Louisiana. The mother of six and grandmother 14 diagnosed with myeloma five years ago and is now in remission. The 59-year-old recently celebrated that success with a Seed of Hope ceremony.

Lessie Credeur’s big, Cajun clan is the heart of the home she shares with husband, Clint, near Lafayette, Louisiana. The stay-at-home mother of six, now enjoying the next generation of her extended family, savors time with her 14 grandchildren, ranging from 16 years to 4 months. “We have 11 girls and three boys and we…


March 2, 2020

Arkansan’s Golf Swing Breaks Back, Leads to Myeloma Diagnosis

Linda Haymes

"When you get a diagnosis like that, your world crumbles and you don't know what to expect," said Buffy Bennett, the wife of myeloma patient Wade Bennett of Hackett, Arkansas.

In 2017, Wade Bennett of Hackett, Arkansas, was 50, and physically active, both in his work as the owner of his company, WB Drywall, and in his leisure time. He also thought he was in good health. “I had a golf tournament coming up and I was swinging an eight iron in my yard and…


February 3, 2020

Fenghuang (Frank) Zhan, M.D., Ph.D., Joins UAMS Myeloma Center

Linda Haymes

Zhan Fenghuang MD

LITTLE ROCK — Myeloma expert Fenghuang “Frank” Zhan, M.D., Ph.D., has joined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) as research director of the Myeloma Center. Zhan was most recently a professor of medicine at the University of Iowa and an adjunct professor with the University of Iowa’s College of Dentistry and Dental Clinics….


January 14, 2020

Grateful Cancer Patient Pedals to Promote Myeloma Center

Linda Haymes

David Sutton of St. Petersburg, Florida, recently completed a five-day bike ride to raise $7,000 for the Myeloma Center.

David Sutton of St. Petersburg, Florida, was 42 and had an 18-month-old son when, on New Year’s Eve of 2004, he was diagnosed with myeloma and given a bleak prognosis from a cancer treatment center near his home. In response, his local oncologist sent him to the UAMS Myeloma Center for a second opinion. “I…


July 23, 2019

Former UAMS Physician, Renowned for Introducing Benchmark Chemotherapy, Returning to Myeloma Center

Linda Haymes

Guido J.K. Tricot, M.D., Ph.D.

LITTLE ROCK — Guido J.K. Tricot, M.D., Ph.D., has rejoined the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), and will see patients at its Myeloma Center. While at UAMS previously, Tricot developed one of the most effective first-line therapies for multiple myeloma, now used around the world. “We are thrilled to have Dr. Tricot rejoin…


July 11, 2019

Subaru, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Blanketing Myeloma Patients with Love

Linda Haymes

Myeloma patient John Tyler of Conway accepts a blanket from Shane Haas, communications manager of Subaru of Little Rock

July 12, 2019 | Patients undergoing treatment at the UAMS Myeloma Center received throw blankets recently along with written messages of hope, courtesy of the Subaru Loves to Care initiative. Six employees from the Subaru of Little Rock dealership — many of them with connections to cancer through their own loved ones — and the…



Next page