It is with great sadness that we share with you that our friend, colleague and Board member Mika Peltovaara (23 Dec 1965 – 21 Febr 2017) passed away in the morning of the 21th of February 2017.

Mika was board member of Myeloma Patients Europe since 2014. He was a very experienced, long-serving patient advocate for the Finnish Cancer Patient Association, with a special interest in possibilities of social media and new technologies in connecting with patients. He was a myeloma patient himself for many years.

Mika was a warm and very approachable personality for everyone. As a board member he preferred to act on low profile, but was always very passionate and supportive for MPE´s initiatives, its board and its staff members. Although his health condition got more challenging, he volunteered to even take a more demanding role as the treasurer in 2015 and stood for re-election as a Board member in October 2016. He was a very caring, approachable and honest personality, always determined to create a friendly atmosphere, with a strong focus on quality aspects of life, and with a good sense of humour.

We owe Mika a lot, not only for all that he has done for Myeloma Patients Europe, but also for being a friend and passionate advocate. We will miss him very much, and we wish for his wife Kirsi and his family a lot of strength in these difficult times.

Board and staff members of Myeloma Patients Europe.