Who is LLS?

Who is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and why should you donate?

WHO:  

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. Founded in 1949, we are relentless in pursuit of our mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families.

WHAT:

Investing in blood cancer research: LLS has invested more than $750 million in research, approximately $72 million in fiscal year 2010 alone. Programs like the Specialized Center of Research (SCOR), which brings together teams of scientists from different disciplines and our Translational Research Program, which funds research with a high probability of producing innovative patient treatments in an accelerated time frame, have directly contributed to many breakthrough cancer treatments.

Research funded by LLS has led or contributed to advances such as chemotherapy, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and new, targeted oral therapies such as Gleevec®, Rituxan®, Velcade®, Thalidomid®, Revlimid®, Dacogen® and Vidaza®. Providing critical information and support for patients and their families:

We made 4.7 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals in fiscal year 2010, through our Information Resource Center (IRC), our award winning Web site and community-based patient service programs. We put people together with experts through Web-casts and teleconferences, and provided professional education through seminars, to extend the latest findings to a broader professional audience. Advocating for issues impacting blood cancer patients: With more than 50,000 advocacy volunteers throughout the country, our voice is being heard by those responsible for legislation to fund blood cancer research and educational programs.

WHY:  

The need is critical: An estimated 957,902 people in the United States are living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, Hodgkin lymphoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or myeloma. Every four minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies.

Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20. Lymphomas are the most common blood cancers and incidence increases with age. The survival rate for myeloma is only 38.5 percent. Incidence is nearly twice as high among African Americans as for all other races.

HOW: 

As a nonprofit, we rely on the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations. Seventy-five percent of our total expenses support cancer research, education, advocacy and patient services. Major, annual fundraising campaigns include Team In Training®, Light The Night® Walk, School & Youth ProgramsSM, Man & Woman of the Year and The Leukemia Cup Regatta.

WHERE: 

 In addition to our national headquarters in White Plains, NY, we have a network of 59 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Information on blood cancers and support is available at www.LLS.org.

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Someday is Today

Someday is Today







Take a moment...donate to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Every little bit counts.

$10 is the cost of sending two newly diagnosed patients information about their disease and how to get support.

$25 covers a single prescription co-payment.

$35 pays for transportation expenses for a patient living in Northern California's most rural areas to treatment at a comprehensive cancer center.

$40 is the cost of sending a comprehensive packet of information for children with cancer.

$75 is the average cost of tissue typing to become a bone marrow donor.

$100 provides 3 patients access to an information teleconference.

$150 allows 5 patients to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

$200 provides a Family Support Group Program for one year for a patient and their family.

$500 allows 10 patients to log on to a webcast and hear the latest information in treatment for their disease.

$550 is the cost of a CT scan.

$1000 supports one week's salary for a medical researcher at UCSF, Stanford, or Berkeley who may discover key information to developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

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Real Life Hero News

Hello everyone!

    I know it has been a long time since we last updated, but I found out today that one of the Real Life Heroes spotlighted on our page was recently told that her Leukemia has returned.

Sylvia was one of the first stories we told on our Real Life Heroes page. She is taking this news head on and started an aggressive course of treatment today.  She is mostly concerned about her three daughters, who have gone through this with her before three years ago.  Sylvia has been an active part of TNT and LLS by being an advocate for patients, collecting hats and scarves, an Honoree, and a great friend to many.  Now she needs our support. She will be inpatient at the hospital with the same treatment as last time, Chemo injected 24hrs for a week, then she will remain in the hospital for a month.

I ask that you please keep her in your thoughts and prayers over the next few weeks. She is a beautiful person inside and out.

After finding out that another person close to me was diagnosed with a rare form of Leukemia over the summer and is unable to find a bone marrow match I decided to sign up for another season with Team In Training (TNT). This time I will be competing in my first triathlon. My season was in honor of Camilia and Gina, and I will now be adding Sylvia to the people I pray for and admire. There is a link at the bottom of this page as well as a widget on the side if you would like to help the cause.

Thank you to all of you for your generosity,

ZiggyND

You can donate to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society here.

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How Does LLS Help Other Diseases?

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.**

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Research Success

Do you wonder where your donation goes? Watch this video to find out about the patients, families, and what the doctors say about your donations. It would not be possible without you!





Here are some examples of what your donations are used for at LLS:

$5 is the cost of sending a newly diagnosed patient information about their disease and how to get support.

$25 covers a single prescription co-payment.

$35 pays for transportation expenses for a patient living in Northern California's most rural areas to treatment at a comprehensive cancer center.

$40 is the cost of sending a comprehensive packet of information for children with cancer.

$75 is the average cost of tissue typing to become a bone marrow donor.

$100 provides 3 patients access to an information teleconference.

$150 allows 5 patients to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

$200 provides a Family Support Group Program for one year for a patient and their family.

$500 allows 10 patients to log on to a webcast and hear the latest information in treatment for their disease.

$550 is the cost of a CT scan.

$1000 supports one week's salary for a medical researcher at UCSF, Stanford, or Berkeley who may discover key information to developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

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Loss of Author and Filmmaker Nora Ephron

Where would we be without our relationship delusions from "When Harry Met Sally", "You've Got Mail", and "Sleepless in Seattle"?

Fandom4LLS recognizes and mourns the loss of author and filmmaker Nora Ephron from acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Please take a moment to read the article below.

LLS Mourns the Loss of Author and Filmmaker Nora Ephron 

 White Plains, NY (June 27, 2012) - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was deeply saddened to learn of the death of the supremely talented Nora Ephron, from acute myelogenous leukemia (AML).

Ephron had been battling myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), which then progressed to AML.
MDS is a group of diseases of the blood and bone marrow, with varying degrees of severity. Sometimes MDS can develop as a result of treatment for a different cancer.  MDS is often a precursor to AML, a rapidly progressing blood cancer that results from acquired changes in the DNA of a developing marrow cell.

LLS is currently funding a Phase III trial for a promising new drug, rigorsertib (trade name Estybon®) being developed by Onconova Therapeutics Inc with support from LLS's Therapy Acceleration Program. The drug inhibits multiple molecular processes critical in the growth and survival of cancer cells. Encouraging earlier stage trials showed disease reduction in MDS patients who did not benefit from other therapies, and reduced need for red blood cell transfusions.  The goal of the Onconova project is to develop a treatment for MDS so the disease does not progress to AML. Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency have recognized this drug could fill an unmet need for MDS patients.

"Our thoughts are with Ms. Ephron's family," said LLS President and CEO John Walter. "LLS is relentless in its pursuit of new therapies to defeat these diseases."

It's YOUR donations to LLS that fund these research projects, and help develop treatment and potential cures for cancer. Please take a moment to donate using the button on the right in honor of Nora Ephron and all those who battles these horrible cancers.

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Expanding Our Compilation

After much thought and consideration we have decided to expand our author contributions to include Hunger Games fic! I know many of you are excited about this news. When we email out the compilation it will be spilt into two "books". A book for Twilight and a book for Hunger Games.

Because we are expanding our event we are looking for one to two people to compile the finished work. It should be someone who can organize the finished products and compress them into a PDF format. If you are interested please email us ASAP at Fandom4LLS@gmail.com

Our goal is to raise as much money as possible for blood cancer research and we need your help to do that.

If you have any questions please let us know.

Thank You!
     
            

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