<strong>Join a multiple myeloma support group</strong>

There is a multiple myeloma support group in Okatie for the Beaufort, Bluffton, Hilton Head Island and Savannah areas that meets from 10 to 11:30 a.m. the fourth Saturday of each month at St. Luke's United Methodist Church on Okatie Highway. The International Myeloma Foundation helps support the group.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

Interested patients, caregivers, family and friends are encouraged to join. It’s an excellent way to meet and interact with other survivors and caregivers to learn the latest advances in treatment and management. For more information, contact Julie McKay at 843-729-8061 or <a href="mailto:TugboatJulie@yahoo.com">TugboatJulie@yahoo.com</a>.

<strong>Dr. Steven Kessel joins Friends of Caroline</strong>

Friends of Caroline Palliative and Hospice Care is proud to announce the addition of a Co-Medical Director, Dr. Steven Kessel, to the team. Dr. Kessel joins Dr. Gordon Krueger, who has been working with Friends of Caroline for the past seven years.

Kessel grew up in a medical family with both his grandfather and father physicians. After completing medical school himself, Kessel spent a year volunteering in the Samoan Islands.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

After backpacking around the world for a year, he settled down in West Virginia, practicing internal medicine. His career led him to Charlotte, N.C. and then to Beaufort, where he spent 18 of his 38 years providing care.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

During his early years of practice, Kessel was a member of Friends of Caroline.

“I have continued to be impressed with the commitment of FOCH to their patients and the community in general,” Dr. Kessel said.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

“We are thrilled to have Dr. Kessel join our team. He is compassionate and very knowledgeable. The Lowcountry is lucky to have his ongoing care in this community,” Friends of Caroline Executive Director Lindsay Roberg said in a release.