LLS has updated its Urgent Need Financial Aid Program to include two arms: The Urgent Need Pediatric and Young Adult Fund supports eligible patients through age 39. The updated Urgent Need Adult in partnership with Charlie's Fund supports eligible patients 40 and older who are in acute financial need. Application must be made by a healthcare professional on the patient's behalf. Eligibility and Application information is available at the Urgent Need website.
So you’re in remission and you can officially call yourself a cancer survivor. Congratulations for making it through the hardest part of the journey. Now you may be thinking “What comes next?” Most people don’t think about survivorship until they finish treatment. And it’s only much later, when there hasn’t been a recurrence and they’re not thinking about the cancer so much, that they really contemplate long-term survival. At that point, there can be many questions: What can ...
Yesterday we learned the exciting news that the FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for an investigational immunotherapy LLS is supporting through our Therapy Acceleration Program (TAP). The therapy, KTE-C19, being developed by Kite Pharma, is another example of a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR), an approach that genetically engineers patients’ immune T cells and reintroduces them into the body to kill cancer cells. KTE-C19 is crafted by removing patients' T cells and geneti...
Beat AML is a collaboration launched nearly three years ago by LLS and the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), to go on the offenensive against acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood cancer with a poor prognosis and little change in the standard of care in 40 years. More than a dozen abstracts from the first phase of the initiative will be featured throughout the American Society of Hematology (#ASH15) Annual Meeting in Orlando over the next few days. #...
When I was first admitted to the hospital, a nurse told me that I was lucky to have my kind of cancer. Half of me said “Screw you!” and the other half said, “You’re right.” Today, I am nearing the 2 ½ year anniversary of my chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) diagnosis. My blood is in remission from the disease, and my bone marrow is almost there, too. Cancer feels very far away from my daily life—when I take my pills, I don’t think “Ho hum, taking my oral chemotherapy!”. Th...
“Hola,” I said playfully, as I answered my cell phone on a beautiful Saturday -- April 21, 2012. “This is Dr. so and so. I’m calling because your blood work from yesterday is all out of whack.” “What do you mean, ‘Out of whack?’” “Your white blood cell count is high,” he said. “What’s high? “It's at 63,000.” “And what's it supposed to be?” “10,000.” In that moment, while at a barbecue with friends, I knew that I had leukemia. I uncharacteristica...
I would never have imagined that at the age of 29, I would be lying in intensive care fighting for my life with stage IV anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). What a wake-up call, literally! Nicknamed “Sleeping Beauty,” I woke up after three weeks to learn my true diagnosis following months of illness. By the time I opened my eyes, I had already undergone my first five-day round of chemotherapy…with five more sessions to go. It was going to be a long summer. But as it turns out, ...
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) continually advocates for laws and policies to ensure that patients have access to lifesaving treatments. Our latest win came this summer when the U.S. House of Representatives approved the 21st Century Cures Act. This bill, which is proof of LLS’s impact and would make a big difference for blood cancer patients, is now on Congress’ “to do” list. The House of Representatives finished its work on the 21st Century Cures Act in July, levera...
As a clinical trials specialist for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, I guide blood cancer patients and their families through the process of determining whether a clinical trial might be right for them. I try to clarify any misconceptions people have about what is involved so they will be in a much better place to make a decision. This blog addresses some of the most common misunderstandings. Considering a clinical trial for treatment of a blood cancer? Make sure you know the facts. ...
Because it can take up to 15 years for a new blood cancer drug to be studied and made available for ...
Just the thought of chemotherapy can be enough to make one feel sick. Toxic drugs powerful enough to kill or damage cancer cells also take their toll on healthy cells. While everyone tends to respond differently, most agree the treatments come with unpleasant side effects. Check out these 14 tips from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that should help make the experience a little less uncomfortable: Get some “chemowear.” Treat yourself to something that is comfortable and makes...
