LLS Community

Mother's Day is a celebration honoring mothers, motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. In this episode, Alicia and Lizette speak with survivor Katy Ursta, a mother of two adorable young boys. Katy speaks about her diagnosis of Hodgkin lymphoma at age 30, and how she and her husband worked to keep the their young family going, while maintaining normalcy around both their four year old and four months old sons. She speaks about the importance of support, having ...

A cancer diagnosis can put a financial strain on patients, caregivers, and their families. Even with health insurance, the cost of treatment can be difficult to manage. If the patient stops working because of treatment or the caregiver stops working to provide care, the loss of income makes it even more difficult to make ends meet. In these situations, the budget left for healthy foods may be minimal. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps, provide...

Rye Brook, N.Y. (May 2, 2018) – The latest approval of a game-changing personalized cancer therapy on Tuesday is further proof of the promise of immunotherapy, an approach that The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) supported early on and which holds great promise for blood cancer patients, as well as for patients with other types of cancers. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah®) its second approval to treat patients with diffuse large B-c...

More than 20,000 cancer scientists from around the globe came to Chicago this week to share and learn about the latest advances in research and treatments at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR). AACR is one of the world’s oldest and largest nonprofits dedicated to cancer research and education. Blood cancers were among the thousands of scientific presentations and educational sessions. And while much of the excitement focused on lung cancer and ot...

The Ketogenic diet (KD) can be found all over social media, television talk shows, and movie star blogs. An entire industry has popped up around the KD with cookbooks, special “Keto” foods, diet companies, and more. People who have tried the Ketogenic diet claim that it leads to weight loss, changes in blood sugar levels, and decreased hunger. However, the diet is very restrictive which can make it dangerous to follow without the supervision of a doctor and a registered dietitian. Keep re...

Happy March! Here is a list of our upcoming March events for patients and caregivers, free of charge. Take a look to see if we are coming to you! Texas Blood Cancer Conference 2018 ​3/10/18, San Antonio, TX http://www.etouches.com/TXBCC18 Surviving and Thriving With Blood Cancer 3/10/18, Cincinnati, OH http://www.lls.org/events/surviving-and-thriving-blood-cancer Living with Hodgkin Lymphoma 3/14/18, Telephone-Web Program http://www.lls.org/events/living-with-hodgkin-lym...

This month is Myeloma Awareness Month! Make sure all your bases are covered by checking out these free resources for patients and caregivers with myeloma.

Remembering Nutrition Throughout Your Cancer Journey Good nutrition is important for cancer patients. Eating the right kinds of foods can help patients feel better and stay stronger. On this episode, Alicia and Lizette speak with nutrition educator, Margaret N. Martin, RD MS LDN CDE, about dietary information to keep in mind before, during and after active treatment. Cancer and cancer treatments can affect taste, smell, appetite and the ability to eat or absorb the nutrients from food. Mar...

February 1st marks the second birthday of LLS Community! Over the years, nearly 7,000 of you have come together to support living healthy with blood cancer. We would like to take this opportunity to provide a refresher on LLS Community Guidelines. LLS Community is a positive, welcoming place for patients and caregivers at all stages of the journey. We have helped countless individuals access needed resources and engage with one another, and we count on you to help provide the safe spac...

Certain patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who take nilotinib daily may have achieved such deep remissions that they may be able to stop their treatment, according to a recent FDA decision When the targeted oral therapy, imatinib (Gleevec®) was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001, it revolutionized treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), turning an almost certain death sentence into a chronic disease for most patients who r...