Originally aired: Friday, 3rd October, 2025
This free webinar was open to all and featured expert discussion and lived experience on the topic of Watch & Wait in follicular lymphoma.
The webinar recording will be added shortly. Please check back regularly.
About the session
Dr Mitchell Smith chaired an insightful conversation with a clinical expert and a patient advocate living with follicular lymphoma. Together, they explored the science, the emotional impact, and the latest research on active monitoring.
Key topics included:
The science and clinical reasons behind Watch & Wait
First-hand experiences of living with FL and being on active monitoring
How to cope with uncertainty and mindset challenges
The most up-to-date research on this approach
Recognising the signs that it may be time to start treatment
What is Active Monitoring?
Also known as “watchful waiting” or “watch and wait” – this is a common approach for patients whose cancer is growing very slowly and does not require treatment. Doctors monitor their patients at regular intervals, and some patients may stay on active monitoring for many years without the need for therapy.
The FLF webinars are developed with and for the FL community. Anyone affected by follicular lymphoma are at the heart of everything we do.
Dr Mitchell Smith has an extensive educational background, having earned his Medical Degree and PhD from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, OH. He has also completed several residencies and fellowships, including a Fellowship in Medical Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in NY. Dr Smith’s career has also spanned many years and institutions, including serving as Director of the Lymphoma Program at Fox Chase Cancer Centre and Director of the Lymphoid Malignancy Program at the Cleveland Clinic. See our full series of webinars, where Dr Smith chairs the sessions, and brings clinical, scientific and patient expertise to each discussion.
Dr Brad Kahl, MD, is a medical oncologist specialising in adult oncology and hematology at Washington University in St Louis (WUSTL). He received his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and has been involved in various clinical trials and research projects. His interests involve clinical and translational efforts to improve outcomes for lymphoma patients. He is particularly interested in novel agents and testing of those agents in clinical trials. Dr Kahl has led several clinical trials in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group and currently serve as Chair of the ECOG Lymphoma Committee. A key trial which Dr Kahl led recently was looking at outcomes of FL patients with low-tumour burden between those treated with maintenance Rituximab versus those only treated at relapse.
Nicola was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in 2018, aged 40. After being admitted to hospital and having a CT scan for suspected appendicitis, enlarged para-aorta abdominal lymph nodes were spotted on Nicola's CT scan. After various blood tests, a CT guided biopsy and a bone marrow biopsy, Nicola received her FL diagnosis and was placed on watch and wait. Nicola's FL has remained stable and she has been on watch and wait ever since diagnosis, she sees her haematologist oncologist every four months. Although grateful to have been given time of being on watch and wait, Nicola has at times struggled with the anxiety an incurable cancer diagnosis can bring. Nicola helps moderate the Living With Follicular Lymphoma Facebook Community Group and is a producer of The FL Community Podcast.
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This webinar series is supported by sponsorship from AstraZeneca, Genmab, AbbVie, Ipsen and Incyte.
All of the above have had no influence on, control of, nor input into the development or performance of the webinar series.
