Contact: Marcie Klein
(914) 821-8205
marcie.klein@lls.org

White Plains, NY (August 27, 2014) - Every three minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed.  More than 1.1 million Americans are living with, or in remission from, these diseases. Certain forms of these diseases are the most common types of cancer in children and adolescents younger than 20 years. Almost 150,000 Americans will be diagnosed with these cancers this year.  There are few, if any means of preventing or early screening for these cancers.

You might be surprised to learn that these statistics refer to blood cancers, including leukemia and lymphoma, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes.
 
That's why The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is ramping up efforts to create urgency for our quest to find cures for blood cancers and ensure patients have access to treatments, with a public call to action during September, Blood Cancer Awareness Month, to raise $300,000 in 30 days.  According to Louis J. DeGennaro, Ph.D., LLS interim president & CEO and chief mission officer, "In our 65 year history, LLS has invested more than $1 billion in research to advance cancer therapies and save lives. Survival rates since the early 1960s have doubled, tripled, and even quadrupled, thanks to research and access to better treatments. But there is more work to be done. Despite this progress, more than one third of blood cancer patients still do not survive five years after their diagnosis. To achieve our goal of a world without blood cancers, we must do more to invest in research to find cures. We need your help."

Other LLS blood cancer facts that might surprise you:

• Stem cell transplantation was first used as a treatment for leukemia patients.
• LLS helped advance therapies for myeloma and lymphoma patients, and some of these drugs are also being tested for patients with other cancers.
• Nearly 40 percent of new cancer therapies approved by the FDA between 2000 and 2013 were first approved for blood cancer patients.
• LLS has helped advance laws in more than half of the states to ensure coverage and payment parity for cancer medications, regardless of how or where administered. 

"Since the early 1960s we have achieved tremendous progress in improving survival rates for many blood cancer patients," states DeGennaro.  "In that time, cures for many patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and Hodgkin lymphoma have been achieved and the five-year survival rate for children with ALL jumped from 3 percent in 1964 to approximately 90 percent in 2014."

"Join us in the fight against blood cancers," urges DeGennaro. "Patients desperately need new therapies not someday, but today.  So please don't wait. Raise your hand. Declare your support.  Donate now and help us reach our goal to raise $300,000 in 30 days during Blood Cancer Awareness Month. Help us make someday, today, for patients with blood cancers."

Donate today!

Do more than raise awareness of blood cancer this month; help LLS reach our goal of $300,000 in 30 days. Visit www.lls.org, donate and help save lives. 

About Blood Cancers

Leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative neoplasms are types of cancer that can affect the bone marrow, the blood cells, the lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system. These diseases are related in the sense that they may all result from acquired mutations to the DNA of a single lymph- or blood-forming stem cell. With blood cancers, abnormal cells multiply and survive without the usual controls that are in place for healthy cells. The accumulation of these cells in the marrow, blood or lymphatic tissue interferes with production and functioning of red cells, white cells and platelets. The disease process can lead to severe anemia, bleeding, an impaired ability to fight infection, or death.

About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society ® (LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the world, provides free information and support services, and is the voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality, affordable, coordinated care.

Founded in 1949 and headquartered in White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.lls.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.