David Steensma, MD

Since the number of #HematologyTweetstory threads has grown (these are about the intersection of history, etymology, science and clinical practice), I made an index so readers can find ones they are interested in: bit.ly/30rHUOa

Stamp collectors or those paging through an inherited postage stamp album could be surprised to come across a stamp boldly printed with the word “NARCOTIC.” @davidsteensma mayocl.in/3IGkE7h

My latest stamp-related medical history vignette @MayoProceedings just posted. This one is on US Narcotic revenue stamps, required on opioid packaging from 1919-1971. Attached are some examples from my collection. Free access for 50 days via this link authors.elsevier.com/a/1lMIc5qq8fSQU

I like having this and the other “Silent Rooms” in the convention center. Well done, @EHA_Hematology. Sometimes the noise and information onslaught at big meetings gets a bit much, and you just need some time to get away from it all, or to think. #EHA25

I like the “theater in the round” venue for topical debates @EHA_Hematology #EHA25 - this one about when MPN clone size matters, Alberto Alvarez-Larrán & Marielle Wondergem, moderated by Claire Harrison.

So far, every single abstract I’ve listened to at #EHA25 reporting a clinical trial has claimed the study drug was “well tolerated” - despite patients discontinuing therapy due to AEs. One speaker said “well tolerated” >10 times. It’s meaningless. Let data speak for itself.

If ornithologists can unify their 3 disparate classifications into one "AviList" of 11,131 bird species, then hematologists & hematopathologists can do it too. Looking forward to a true consensus #hematopathology classification reconciling WHO5 and ICC. birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/avili…

Shout out to ⁦@ErikaHamilton9⁩ for making sure to pronounce the names of all the speakers in #ASCO25 Plenary Session correctly (and not just the easy ones like “Mark Lewis” ⁦@marklewismd⁩😊). It’s a small thing, but shows respect when you care enough to do it right.

Perhaps just nostalgia, but I miss the days when politicians at least pretended to be concerned about policies that could result in the death of some of their constituents, rather than joking about it and then making a followup video from a cemetery. cnn.com/2025/05/31/pol…

So fun to walk around my alma mater @UChicago. I recalled the story of these shields on Lying-In Hospital. When it was built in 1931, 4 shields were carved with names of obstetrical luminaries. The 5th was left blank awaiting the person who solved eclampsia. It’s still empty!

It's weird when pro teams relocate but keep their old names. Best known is the Lakers, who started in the Land of 10,000 Lakes but moved to arid LA, or the (formerly New Orleans) Utah Jazz - SLC not noted for its jazz scene. Memphis is short on Grizzlies & NY has far fewer…