Myeloma Link

Championing Access to Care

Connecting Black Communities to Free Information and Support and Enhancing Access to Care and the Latest Treatments

Black Americans have twice the incidence of myeloma as white Americans. What’s more, recent studies show that Black Americans are significantly less likely to receive the latest treatments, and are more likely to experience treatment delays. As a champion for myeloma patients, caregivers, survivors, and families, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is determined to change this. We believe every patient deserves to receive the best care and support possible while we work tirelessly toward cures.

LLS is dedicated to helping Black Americans with myeloma access the treatment and care they need to survive and thrive and improving quality of life. We provide trusted, free tools and resources to help patients and caregivers navigate the treatment landscape more effectively and cope with the disease. See our Commitment.

Carried out by LLS staff and volunteers in 13 Black communities across the country, Myeloma Link is an education and outreach program that directly connects Black patients and caregivers to trusted, free myeloma information and support and enhances access to care and the latest treatments.

Currently, the program is offered virtually in Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, New York City/The Bronx, Oakland, Philadelphia, Raleigh-Durham, St. Louis and Washington D.C., providing free education, information, support and referral resources. To date, Myeloma Link has reached nearly 30,000 individuals through more than 250 educational programs and community outreach activities.

If Myeloma Link is in your community, learn how you can participate by calling 1-844-955-LINK or emailing MyelomaLink@LLS.org today.

Together with volunteers, patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and supporters, LLS aims:

Myeloma Link reaches Black patients and caregivers in the following ways:

  • Trained myeloma Community Outreach Volunteers build relationships with trusted community-based organizations and plan myeloma and blood cancer education programs and other outreach activities.
  • Church Outreach through various activities, including inclusion of health-related topics during services in Black churches.
  • Community education programs in collaboration with trusted partner organizations, such as churches, senior centers, and libraries.
  • In-depth, healthcare provider-led, patient education programs that focus on resources and information relevant to myeloma patients, their families, and caregivers.
  • Myeloma education programs for primary care providers at community health centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs).
  • Connecting patients and caregivers with LLS Information Specialists, highly trained oncology professionals. LLS Information Specialists work with compassion to provide blood cancer patients and caregivers with free personalized support, information and resources, tailored to their specific diagnosis and needs, including helping them find clinical trials and accessing financial assistance. To speak with an LLS Information Specialist and learn how you can participate in Myeloma Link, please call 844-955-LINK.

To learn more about this initiative, please view this video featuring Reverend Veronica Graves.

More About Myeloma