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...
We’ve just concluded one of the most historic years on record in terms of new therapy approvals for blood cancers. In all, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 18 therapies to treat patients with blood cancers, including some entirely new agents and some new uses for already approved drugs. Among these approvals were the first new therapies – four to be precise – for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after a 40-year drought in treatment advances for this deadly blood c...
After a cancer diagnosis, people with cancer and their loved ones may feel “out of step” during the holidays. A diagnosis can prompt new questions during this time, such as: How do I make this holiday feel the same as it did before my diagnosis? How do I take care of myself during the holiday rush? How can I celebrate when I have so many other things on my mind? How can I manage my fatigue during such an active time of the year? Listen to our Coping with the Holidays After Cancer epis...
Today at the #ASH17 (American Society of Hematology) conference in Atlanta, researchers presented the latest compelling data from thousands of clinical trials, revealing how experimental therapies, or approved therapies being tested in new ways, have worked in treating blood cancer patients. Among the presentations were several hundred projects across a spectrum of diseases that benefited in some way from support from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). While some of the results were p...
The 59th ASH (American Society of Hematology) Annual Meeting & Exposition kicks off tomorrow here in Atlanta, drawing more than 25,000 researchers, physicians, biopharmaceutical company executives, patient advocates and industry experts from around the world to share the latest scientific clinical data in the blood cancers and other blood disorders. As we do each year, LLS opened the #ASH2017 weekend by hosting our own scientific symposium today, one day before the official start of th...
Have you tuned into the LLS Podcast yet? Subscribe now to The Bloodline with LLS and don't miss an episode! Here are the latest podcast episodes from Alicia and Lizette from LLS: Timothy’s Turning Point Alicia and Lizette speak with Timothy, an ALL young adult survivor, who shares how his culture, attitude and relationship with his healthcare team during treatment steered him towards a profession he would have never envisioned for himself. Mentioned in this episode: Stupid Cance...
The role of caregiver can come about expectedly or thrust upon someone suddenly. It is a role that is guided by the heart and done out of love, with the patient's best interests at heart. Caregivers can get overlooked with all of the tasks that must be completed, as the patient's concerns remain a top priority. It is important to show caregivers that they are appreciated for their patience and compassion within their new role. We'd like to use this month to acknowledge those who have offe...
We’ve seen therapies for patients with blood cancers approved this past year at a pace that would make your head spin. With the latest U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval coming just today, I thought it would be a good time to take a step back and look at all of the remarkable progress that has occurred in this year alone. Today’s approval marks the eleventh therapy for a blood cancer approved in 2017, many of which are the result of groundbreaking discoveries supporte...
Rye Brook, N.Y. (October 18, 2017) – The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) hails today’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a new, personalized cell therapy that supercharges the patient’s immune system to find and kill cancer cells. The therapy, axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta ™), is the second of this new method of treatment, known as CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell immunotherapy, to receive FDA approval for blood cancer patients in the past six weeks, ...
Rye Brook, N.Y. (September 20, 2017) - U.S. Senators Lindsay Graham (South Carolina) and Bill Cassidy (Louisiana) recently introduced a bill to dismantle portions of the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. Senate may advance this legislation as early as next week under a special process that requires only a simple majority to advance it to the U.S. House of Representatives. The Graham-Cassidy proposal would increase premiums and out-of-pocket costs for life-saving cancer care and allow insurers to ...
