The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was founded in 1949 by a family for families.
We are celebrating 70 years of impact on generations of patients, survivors, families, caregivers, researchers, volunteers, healthcare professionals and supporters who share our relentless drive to find cancer cures. Whether you have benefited from our lifesaving work or contributed to our successes, you are part of #GenerationLLS – the generations dedicated to a future without blood cancer.
Robert "Robbie" Roesler de Villiers was just 16 years old when he lost his life to leukemia in 1944. At the time, the disease was considered fatal. Determined to spare other families the devastating loss of a child, Robbie's parents, Antoinette and Rudolph de Villiers, founded an organization that would change forever the landscape of cancer treatment and care.
We helped pioneer the first combination chemotherapy for childhood leukemia in the 1950s, establishing a standard of care and unlocking the power of multiple drugs to attack cancer.
We've launched the LLS Children's Initiative to disrupt how treatments are developed for pediatric cancers, while expanding the education and support we already provide to children and families.
Learn MoreFrom our cutting edge research to our first-class patient education and support services to our advocacy endeavors, we've helped millions impacted by cancer.
The powerful stories of patients and families inspire us all to work tirelessly every day to achieve our mission. Watch this incredible family share what it means to be part of #GenerationLLS.
With LLS support, Dr. Druker pioneered targeted therapy, a cornerstone of precision medicine. His work led to the development of imatinib (Gleevec®), which revolutionized CML treatment and has saved 350,000 lives globally. Today, Dr. Druker is driving innovation in precision medicine through our Beat AML Master Clinical Trial.
Julie lost her 9-year-old son, Zach, to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2014. He was diagnosed in 2010 and received almost every therapy available for pediatric AML, but passed away following his third bone marrow transplant. Today, Julie is a volunteer working on LLS's Children's Initiative with the hope that other moms do not have to experience what she did.
Emily, a 32-year-old mother of three young children, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2013. After countless failed treatments, she was given six months to live. She achieved a cure as one of the first patients enrolled in a new clinical trial for CAR T-cell immunotherapy – a therapy LLS helped fund.