The LLS Blog

NBA Sideline Reporter Craig Sager’s Message of Hope at LLS Blood Cancer Conference

By Linda Heaney | July, 2016

A week after receiving the Jimmy V Perseverance ESPY Award, presented by Vice President Biden, where he delivered an emotional speech about his cancer battle, NBA Sideline Reporter Craig Sager again exhibited his #SagerStrong attitude as keynote speaker at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Atlanta Blood Cancer Conference. Sager was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2014. He announced this past march that his cancer is no longer in remission.

Speaking before hundreds of blood cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, family members and healthcare professionals, Sager spoke about the importance of faith and hope. When told of his terminal cancer diagnosis, Sager says he couldn’t imagine what it would do to his spirit, but found it summoned “the greatest appreciation of life possible. I’ve been able to touch people’s lives in ways I never dreamed possible, and my battle has now become our battle.” Sager feels he is fighting for everybody who has cancer and for those in the future. “Because none of us want to see another family go through what our families have endured,” he said.

Dr. Louis DeGennaro, LLS president and CEO, presented Sager with LLS’s Dr. William Dameshek award. Dr. Dameshek was a giant in blood cancer research; in 1946 he helped pioneer what was widely considered the first anti-cancer chemotherapy, and he served on LLS’s National Board. According to Dr. DeGennaro, “The Dameshek Award, established in 1969, recognizes an organization or public figure who has aided LLS in helping focus national attention on the blood cancers.” DeGennaro thanked Sager for sharing his cancer journey with his fans and the general public. “You have provided hope and encouragement, and become an inspiration for so many.”

To highlight his message of hope, Sager recalled a Doris Day song from his youth. With a chuckle, he began singing “He’s got high hopes, he’s got high hopes, he’s got high apple pie, in the sky hopes” as the audience sang along.

Zebrafish: A New Way to Study Leukemia

By LLS Staffer | July, 2016

David Traver, Ph.D., a professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, is the recipient of an LLS Career Development Program (CDP) grant. Traver’s research laboratory is using the zebrafish as a model to study the biology of cancer.

Most of his team’s studies are aimed at understanding how the hematolymphoid system arises in the zebrafish embryo from the first hematopoietic stem cells. The zebrafish system offers easy visualization of blood cells in the translucent embryo and the ability to dissect pathways genetically.

In the simplest of terms, how would you summarize what you are hoping to do?

Our main question is how hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are born in the vertebrate embryo.  There are several waves of blood cell formation during the development of all vertebrate animals, but only HSCs are conferred with the ability to self-renew for life.  We are working to understand the genetic basis of how this self-renewal program is formed, since self-renewal is the key to stem cell function over time and also what is inappropriately conferred to cancer-initiating cells.  If we can understand how normal self-renewal programs operate, we believe we can understand how these programs are co-opted by the leukemogenic process to give rise to leukemias.  

What is the biggest challenge your team faces?

Our biggest challenge is to keep our research programs funded.  The funding climate in the U.S. is still incredibly challenging, especially for ideas that are unconventional or ambitious.  The 5-year award from LLS has been a great help in providing stability to my group.  
 

Another Option: Clinical Trials

By LLS Staffer | July, 2016

LLS specialists can help search for an appropriate study

A blood cancer diagnosis typically leads one to an oncologist or hematologist, a cancer center and a conversation about available treatment options. One option that is not always presented is that of being part of a research study.

Clinical trials are carefully controlled studies of new or existing drugs, conducted by doctors. Researchers are trying to find ways to increase the effectiveness or decrease the side effects of treatment. A treatment that is proven safe and effective in a clinical trial often goes on to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This is how new lifesaving treatments are brought to market.

Through participation in a clinical trial, a patient can gain early access to an experimental therapy that may be more effective than standard treatments. Trials may also provide an alternative for someone unable to undergo a recommended procedure (such as a transplant).