Fandom for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

Email has been sent!

2011-10-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

The compilation has been emailed to everyone that donated to Fandom4LLS. If you would still like to receive a copy it's not too late, we are still accepting donations.

Due to the SIZE of the document many emails did not go through. If this was you please email us and let us know.

I hope you all enjoy!

Fandom4LLS
ZiggyND. SingleStrand, and vbfb1

Final Days!

2011-09-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

Paypal donations are now closed. But you can still donate using this link or the link on the side of the page.

All donations must be in by Sept 30th at 10 am PST, no exceptions.

Thank you so much for your support!

Meet Elise!

2011-09-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

A great big THANK YOU to all of you who have donated so far. There are only 4 more days left for those of you who would like to donate via Paypal. Everyone else can donate using the LLS button on the left side until Sept 30th 10 am PST.

Until then we wanted to share with you one last video. This is Elise and she wants to tell you about the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and what they do for people and families.

Deadline is Quickly Approaching

2011-09-10T12:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!
Thank you so much for your generous donations! We just wanted to send out a few reminders and extra information.

Author deadline is Sept 15th! Please email us a copy of your written piece and banner attached separately. If you are sending us a gdoc please also email us your banner. If you have the time please paste your teaser for the website in the email. If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to email. Thanks for all of your hard work!

Donation deadline is Sept 30th! All donations are due no later than Sept 30th at 10 am PST. We have recently added a PayPal option. If you are donating using PayPal those donations are due no later than Sept 25th because of the PayPal transfer restrictions.

Did you know that in the U.S. any donation over $20 is tax deductible? This only applies to direct LLS donations NOT PayPal donations.

If you have any questions please send us an email and ask. We are so happy with the great progress of this fundraiser and look forward to continued support for LLS.

Thanks!

Fandom4LLS

September is Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month

2011-09-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

White Plains, NY (August 25, 2011) - Remarkable progress has been made in treating patients with blood cancers, with survival rates for many having doubled or tripled, and in some cases quadrupled since The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was founded in 1949.

"I have personally seen the progress in cure rates and treatments from when I experienced leukemia in 1994," says survivor Nikki Henshaw. "These changes have dramatically improved the quality of life for those who are battling cancer."

Survival rates for children with acute lymphocytic leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, have risen over the past 40 years from 3% to approximately 90% today; Hodgkin lymphoma patient survival rates have doubled to 86% since the 1960s, and the five-year survival rate has increased from 25% in the mid-seventies to 41% for all myeloma patients, and patients diagnosed in the last decade had a 50% improvement in overall survival.

Yet, more than 1 million North Americans are fighting blood cancers, the third leading cause of cancer death. Every four minutes someone in North America is diagnosed with a blood a cancer, and every ten minutes someone dies.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is a beacon of help and guidance to those touched by blood cancer and each September LLS observes Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month, to shed light on these diseases and let the public know that there are resources available for blood cancer patients and their families.

"Awareness Month is an opportunity to increase the public's understanding of blood cancers and encourage people to support the funding of research to find cures and education programs to help patients have the best possible outcomes throughout their cancer experience," said LLS President and CEO John Walter.

Since its inception in 1949, LLS has invested more than $814 million in research to find cures and better therapies. LLS supports investigators' efforts to find new molecular targets for treatment and potential immunotherapies, and helps them translate their laboratory findings into more effective therapies for patients. Its Therapy Acceleration Program (TAP) is a bold initiative to advance therapies with strong prospect so providing near-term benefit to patients diagnosed with blood cancers.

Through its patient services programs, LLS offers a comprehensive array of education and support services to blood cancer patients and their families. There are family support groups, free patient education workshops featuring health experts, and First Connection - a peer-to-peer support program that matches newly diagnosed patients with trained volunteer survivors. A back to school program help children treated for cancer transition back to school. LLS also provides financial assistance to patients with significant financial need and an insurance co-pay assistance program.

Spotlight: Lymphoma

2011-08-17T19:23:00.001-07:00

This is our second spotlight. We feel it is important that the public become more aware of what Lymphoma is. Please take a few moments to read the information below.

We are still trying to reach of goal of $5,000. It would be great to see us hit 50% or $2,500 sometime in the next week. We have an amazing group of almost 90 authors that are taking the time to contribute to this worthy cause. Many of them and you have been affected by these cancers and we know your donations go to research for cancer cures.

What is Lymphoma?

Lymphoma is the name for a group of blood cancers that develop in the lymphatic system. The two main types are Hodgkin Lymphoma and non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL).

In 2010, about 628,415 people are living with lymphoma or are in remission (no sign of the disease). This number includes about 153,535 people with Hodgkin lymphoma and 474,880 people with NHL.

Hodgkin lymphoma has characteristics that distinguish it from other diseases classified as lymphoma, including the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells. These are large, cancerous cells found in Hodgkin lymphoma tissues, named for the scientists who first identified them. Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most curable forms of cancer.

NHL represents a diverse group of diseases distinguished by the characteristics of the cancer cells associated with each disease type. Most people with NHL have a B-cell type of NHL (about 85 percent). The others have a T-cell type or an NK-cell type of lymphoma. Some patients with fast-growing NHL can be cured. For patients with slow-growing NHL, treatment may keep the disease in check for many years.

Hodgkin Lymphoma

Hodgkin lymphoma is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow.It's one of the most curable forms of cancer. Hodgkin lymphoma is named for Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, who first noted a trend of cancer cases in the lymph nodes in 1832. The disease was called Hodgkin's disease until it was officially renamed Hodgkin lymphoma in the late 20th century.

An estimated 8,490 people living in the United States will be diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010. In the United States in 2010, there are 153,535 people living with Hodgkin lymphoma (active disease or in remission). The five-year relative survival rate for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma has increased dramatically from 40 percent in whites from 1960 to 1963 to almost 88 percent for all races from 1999 to 2006.

Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) isn't just one disease. It's actually a diverse group of blood cancers that share a single characteristic in how they develop. NHL generally develops in the lymph nodes and lymphatic tissues. In some cases, NHL involves bone marrow and blood.

An estimated 65,540 people living in the United States will be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in 2010. NHL is the seventh most common cancer in males and females in the United States. The five-year relative survival rate for NHL patients has risen from 31 percent in whites from 1960 to 1963 to 69.1 percent for persons of all races from 1999 to 2006. In 2010, there are approximately 474,880 people in the United States living with NHL (with active disease or in remission). An estimated 20,210 persons will die of lymphoma in the United States in 2010.

Please help us to continue to fight these cancers and find cures by donating to Fandom4LLS.

You can find more information about these and other cancers here.

New Leukemia Treatment in the News

2011-08-10T18:07:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone! Thank you so much for your donations. Below is an article from MSNBC about recent Leukemia treatments. Thought you might be interested.

New Leukemia Treatment Exceeds "Wildest Expectations"
By Robert Bazell

Doctors have treated only three leukemia patients, but the sensational results from a single shot could be one of the most significant advances in cancer research in decades. And it almost never happened.

In the research published Wednesday, doctors at the University of Pennsylvania say the treatment made the most common type of leukemia completely disappear in two of the patients and reduced it by 70 percent in the third. In each of the patients as much as five pounds of cancerous tissue completely melted away in a few weeks, and a year later it is still gone.

The results of the preliminary test “exceeded our wildest expectations,” says immunologist Dr. Carl June a member of the Abramson Cancer Center's research team.

Dr. Edgar Engleman, a cancer immunologist at Stanford University School of Medicine who was not involved in the research calls the results “remarkable ... great stuff.”

The Penn scientists targeted chroniclymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common type of the blood disease. It strikes some 15,000 people in the United States, mostly adults, and kills 4,300 every year. Chemotherapy and radiation can hold this form of leukemia at bay for years, but until now the only cure has been a bone marrow transplant. A bone marrow transplant requires a suitable match, works only about half the time, and often brings on severe, life-threatening side effects such as pain and infection.

In the Penn experiment, the researchers removed certain types of white blood cells that the body uses to fight disease from the patients. Using a modified, harmless version of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, they inserted a series of genes into the white blood cells. These were designed to make to cells target and kill the cancer cells. After growing a large batch of the genetically engineered white blood cells, the doctors injected them back into the patients.

In similar past experimental treatments for several types of cancer the re-injected white cells killed a few cancer cells and then died out. But the Penn researchers inserted a gene that made the white blood cells multiply by a thousand fold inside the body. The result, as researcher June put it, is that the white blood cells became “serial killers” relentlessly tracking down and killing the cancer cells in the blood, bone marrow and lymph tissue.

As the white cells killed the cancer cells, the patients experienced the fevers and aches and pains that one would expect when the body is fighting off an infection, but beyond that the side effects have been minimal.

Doctors had told Bill Ludwig, one of the research volunteers, that he would die from his leukemia within weeks. Then he got the experimental treatment a year ago.

With tears welling up, he told NBC, "I'm more closer to the people I love and I appreciate them more... I'm getting emotional... the grass is greener and flowers smell wonderful."

The other two patients have chosen to remain anonymous but one who happens to be a scientist himself wrote, “I am still trying to grasp the enormity of what I am a part of -- and of what the results will mean to countless others with CLL or other forms of cancer. When I was a young scientist, like many I’m sure, I dreamed that I might make a discovery that would make a difference to mankind – I never imagined I would be part of the experiment.”

So why has this remarkable treatment been tried so far on only three patients?

Both the National Cancer Institute and several pharmaceutical companies declined to pay for the research. Neither applicants nor funders discuss the reasons an application is turned down. But good guesses are the general shortage of funds and the concept tried in this experiment was too novel and, thus, too risky for consideration.

The researchers did manage to get a grant from the Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, a charity founded by Barbara and Edward Netter after their daughter-in-law died of cancer. The money was enough to finance the trials on the first three patients.

With results for the three patients published Wednesday simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine, money for further studies -- not just in this one type of leukemia, but in other cancers -- will likely pour in from both the government and drug companies.

It is important to emphasize that there still have been only three patients. Over the past century, many attempts to harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer have shown initial success and subsequent failure. So much research remains to be done to prove just how good this treatment is. But it should begin soon, with great vigor.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

LLS Around the World

2011-07-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

We thought it would be helpful as a world wide community to look at some Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma statistics around different parts of the world. This information was difficult to find an not available in many countries.

Canada*

About 4,800 people in Canada are expected to develop leukemia in 2010

In 2010 about 8,430 Canadians will be diagnosed with lymphoma.
Most will be diagnosed with non-Hodgkin Lymphoma- an expected 7,500 people.

About 2,300 people in Canada are expected to be diagnosed with myeloma in 2010. Myeloma is most common in people aged 50 and older.

Austraila**

For women, the number of new cases of cancers of lymphoid and haematopoietic tissue is
projected to increase by 37% from 3,316 in 2001 to 4,536 in 2011.

For men, the number of new cases is projected to increase by
35% from 4,297 in 2001 to 5,811 in 2011.

United Kingdom***

Around 7,000 people were diagnosed with leukaemia in the UK in 2007, that’s around 20 people every day.

Around 420 new cases of leukaemia were diagnosed in children under 15 in 2007 in the UK.

About 10,920 people were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the UK in 2007.

For all other countries in all parts of the world, here is an interesting chart with Leukemia Statistics.

We encourage you to do additional research on your own about these cancers in your own countries. We appreciate the worldwide attention this site has received and hope that you will spread the work about these blood cancers.

* Canada reference source
** Australia reference source
***UK reference source for Leukemia and for Lymphoma

Spotlight: Leukemia

2011-07-18T22:03:00.000-07:00

As we continue to raise an amazing amount of money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, we thought it would be helpful if you knew a little bit more about the different cancers. What is this type of cancer? How is it diagnosed? What is the prognosis for people with this cancer? And other questions you may have. Our first spotlight is going to be on Leukemia.

We thought this would be a good one to start with because it is the first cancer named in "The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society". We will continue this spotlight for the next few weeks highlighting different cancers the LLS does research and trials for. So let's begin!

What is Leukemia?

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, the spongy center of bones where our blood cells are formed. The disease develops when blood cells produced in the bone marrow grow out of control.

About 43,050 people are expected to develop leukemia in 2010. New cases of chronic leukemia will account for nearly 11 percent more new cases than acute leukemia.

Four Most Common Types of Leukemia

Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the bone marrow and the blood that progresses quickly without treatment. It affects mostly cells that aren't fully developed. These cells can't carry out their normal functions. That's one reason why it's important to get care and treatment as soon as possible.

With treatment, people who have AML continue to see improved results. However, AML can be a difficult disease to treat, and researchers are studying new approaches to AML therapy in clinical trials. Only 24.2 percent of people diagnosed with AML survive.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood that progresses rapidly without treatment. That's why it's important to start treatment soon after diagnosis.Most children with ALL are cured of their disease after treatment. The numbers of adults and their remission lengths have grown significantly over the past 30 years. 66.4 percent of people diagnosed with ALL survive. Just 54.6 percent of people diagnosed with CML survive.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a cancer of the bone marrow and blood. CML is usually diagnosed in its chronic phase when treatment is very effective for most patients. CML has three phases. Just 54.6 percent of people diagnosed with CML survive.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of blood cancer that begins in the bone marrow. It can progress either slowly or quickly depending on the form it takes. Many people with CLL live good-quality lives for years with medical care.This is the most common cancer in adults. Some people have CLL that grows slowly while other people have CLL that grows faster. 79.7 percent of people diagnosed with CLL survive.

Incidence by Gender

Incidence rates for all types of leukemia tend to be higher among males than among females. In 2010, males are expected to account for more than 57 percent of new cases of leukemia.

Survival

In 2010, an estimated 259,889 people are living with or in remission from leukemia. The five-year relative survival rate for patients with leukemia has nearly quadrupled in the past 49 years from 14 percent in whites from 1960 to 1963 to 55.3 percent for all races from 1999 to 2006.

~~~~~~~~~~

We hope this helps you better understand Leukemia. This is just a brief synopsis. As with any type of cancer we recommend you seek attention from a doctor for additional information. All information was gathered from the LLS website.

With your donation, LLS can continue to help find new treatments and cures for people with all types of Leukemia.

Thank You!

2011-07-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Wanted to start off tonight with a great big THANK YOU!

Thank you to all of our wonderful authors that are contributing a writing piece to this great cause.

Thank you to all of you who have generously donated to our fund, we reached our $200 goal this week! WOOHOO!

Thank you to everyone that has followed us on Twitter and retweeted our posts, your help is greatly appreciated!

And finally.....Thank you to all of the sites that have mentioned our event. Here are a few links:

A Different Forrest

SamRoseyFiction

Fandom Gives Back

TalulaBelle's Twilighted Forum

Jasper's Darlins

TwiFic News

Jasper's Naughty Girls

And anyone else we forgot...let us know and we will add you to our list

If we all work together we can do it! If you know of anyone that you would like to profile on our Real Life Heroes page, send us an email and let us know we will be happy to do so.

Our goal for this month is to raise $1,300!That's a quarter of our final goal.

Have a great week!

Research Funded by LLS Benefits the Treatment of Other Diseases

2011-07-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

Did you know that your donation not only helps people with Leukemia, Lymphoma, and other multiple myeloma but also benefits other diseases? Read this article below to find out more information.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society funds over 400 research grantees who are pursuing the causes and cures for leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. In the course of this research, these scientists study various aspects of the normal and diseased immune system, the molecular causes of blood-related cancers and various treatment regimens and therapeutic agents. All of these research pursuits have significant impact on the treatment and cure of other diseases, including breast cancer, prostate cancer and other solid tumors, AIDS, autoimmune diseases and various other blood disorders such as sickle cell anemia and thalassemia.

Let's look at several examples of this "cross-functional" research. Treatment of breast cancer has directly benefited from Society funding of bone marrow/stem cell transplant research. New, intensive chemotherapeutic treatment of breast cancer with autologous bone marrow transplant is a currently investigated treatment option for women with advanced breast cancer. The Society has and is currently funding important research into stem cell and bone marrow transplantation. (Current committed funding impacting breast cancer research is $17.9 million.)

AIDS patients have likewise benefited from research funded by the Society. For patients with AIDS comes an increased risk (>80 times) of AIDS-associated lymphoma. Because highly active anti-retroviral therapies (HAART) reduces this risk, we have also funded research into opportunistic infections and into understanding and treating Kaposi’s sarcoma, an HIV-related cancer. This may prevent or limit HIV growth and reduce the risk of AIDS-associated lymphoma. (Current committed funding impacting AIDS research is $3.7 million.)

A recent "cross over" therapy involves the new, molecularly-targeted leukemia pill called GleevecTM. Gleevec is an orally administered drug that inhibits certain enzymes that are mutated and drive the growth of chronic myelogenous leukemia cells. The Society has funded and continues to fund Dr. Brian Druker's work into this new therapeutic agent. A related enzyme is altered in gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Gleevec is a powerful new tool in the treatment of GIST with long term remission occurring in 70% of patients, including those with distant metastatic tumors. (Current committed for research on GleevecTM is $11.6 million.)

Of course, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society funds research into the basic cellular mechanisms of growth regulation. Many genes that are mutated or altered in the evolution of various cancers are the same. These altered genes are called oncogenes (if they help stimulate growth) or tumor suppressor genes (if they promote the normal limitation of cellular growth). Obviously, research that sheds light on how these altered genes disrupt cellular growth regulation is important for the development of new therapies for all types of cancers harboring these mutated genes.

We thought this was fascinating information and helps to show that your donation is going beyond just specific cancer research. Let us know what you think by commenting below?

Have you donated yet?

**Prepared by Alan J. Kinniburgh, Ph.D., Vice President of Research, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, 21 April 2004 For information on Society-funded research in specific areas, visit www.lls.org, click on “Research” then “Grants in Force” and do a search for your area of interest.**

Week 1

2011-07-03T19:54:00.000-07:00

Wow everyone thank you so much for a fabulous first week! We have received a number of great writing donations from superb authors. The list is being update daily so make sure you check back regularly. Also, follow us on Twitter for up to the minute news!

This week we raised almost $100! Thank you for all your generous donations. I challenge you to double this amount for next week! Why wait to donate? If you already know that there is more than one author you like on the list, donate today there's no reason to wait. And when you DO donate don't forget to include the name of a friend or family member you would like to honor who has fought against cancer.

We look forward to continuing this great journey and don't forget to tell all your friends about us!

Have a great week!

Official Kick Off!

2011-06-27T00:01:00.000-07:00

Has someone in your family been affected by leukemia? Have you always wondered what lymphoma really is? Fandom4LLS has formed to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

Approximately every 4 minutes one person in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer. Cancer has affected many of our lives. My cousin was diagnosed with Leukemia when he was just a kid, and unfortunately lost that battle. Just 8 months ago my aunt was diagnosed with lymphoma when she found a lump in her breast. She has gone through chemo and radiation and is now in remission, but constantly worries about when it will come back. These are the stories of everyday people that could be your own family members.

Fandom For LLS is hoping to not only bring awareness to these cancers but to put a face to the name. We encourage you to check out the site and maybe you will find something you can connect with. Throughout the event we will be spotlighting Real Life Heroes who have lived with cancer, but have not let it stop them. You can read about remarkable Louie Bonpua. Next week we will be spotlighting Sylvia.

Thanks to donations from others, cancer research has made many milestones, but still every 10 minutes, someone in the US dies from a blood cancer. For a minimum $5 donation, you can receive a compilation of stories by Twific authors. Just click on the "Donation" page and follow the link, then email your receipt to Fandom4LLS@gmail.com. Your donations will go directly to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society who's mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

Also, one of the fandom's very own, ZiggyND, is running a half marathon for the cause. If you are one of the first fifty to donate and email us your receipt and information, she will put a memorial or honorary name on her jersey for the person in your life affected by one of these horrible blood cancers.

We hope that you will support us in this cause with a mission to wipe out blood cancers. Tell your favorite fic author to donate an outtake or deleted scene that you have been anxious to read. With your help we hope to reach our goal of $5,000!

All author pieces must be submitted by September 15th and all donations must be submitted by September 30th. This gives you almost 3 months to convince your favorite authors to participate!

For more information or to sign up as a contributing author, visit the "Contributing Authors" page. You can also find us on Twitter @Fandom4LLS or email us at Fandom4LLS@gmail.com. We hope to make this charitable event a huge success, so please spread the word!

Coming Soon....

2011-06-09T12:45:00.001-07:00

Check back Monday, June 27th for more information!

You can also follow us on Twitter @Fandom4LLS

If you would like more information or want to help you can email Fandom4LLS@gmail.com