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(Rye Brook, NY- September 14, 2022) – When you or someone you love hears the words ‘you have cancer,’ it's perhaps the darkest moment in your life. Today, the global leader in the fight against blood cancer, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), kicked off its trailblazing 2022 Light The Night® campaign bringing together communities to share hope and light — two things that can feel needed and inspiring to those contending with the ripple effects of blood cancer.
Culminating in over 100 evening events each fall, communities across North America will join together at Light The Night carrying illuminated lanterns to take steps to end cancer – white for survivors, red for supporters, and gold in memory of loved ones lost to cancer.
The funds raised through Light The Night are used to support LLS’s mission priorities: Research, Education & Support and Policy & Advocacy. Through campaigns like Light The Night, LLS has invested more than $1.5 billion since its inception in research to advance breakthrough therapies.
New this year, LLS proudly introduced its first Light The Night College Ambassador, Davis Warren.
Warren is a leukemia survivor, who not only battled cancer to get back on the field, but he has thrived and is currently a quarterback for a Power Five team, the University of Michigan Wolverines. Warren wants to inspire and help others in their battle with cancer.
“Every 180 seconds, someone in the U.S. has their life turned upside down by a blood cancer diagnosis,” said Coker Powell, LLS Chief Development Officer. “Through Light The Night, communities envision a world one day without the devastation of blood cancer.”
LLS knows that inspiration is crucial to navigating a complex blood cancer journey, and they certainly were for 2022 National Light The Night Honored Hero, Harper, who was diagnosed with infantile acute lymphoblastic leukemia at just 10 weeks old, with a 10 percent chance of survival.
After being admitted to her local children’s hospital, Harper was enrolled in an LLS-funded clinical trial that saved her life. She is now a healthy five-year-old in remission, and her family raises funds for Light The Night in her honor.
While many children survive leukemia, the most common type of pediatric cancer, the treatments are harsh and outdated. Through LLS’s Dare to Dream Project, LLS is taking on children’s cancer from every direction, disrupting the status quo with a bold vision for young patients – to not only survive their cancer, but thrive in their lives after treatment.
As LLS’s National Light The Night Presenting Sponsors of Survivorship & Hope since 2018, Pharmacyclics, LLC, an Abbvie Company and the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson* joined forces with LLS to shine a spotlight on what it means to be a cancer survivor. And LLS is thrilled to announce in its inaugural year the National Light The Night Presenting Sponsor of Celebration & Community, Kite, a Gilead Company.
“Creating a world without blood cancer takes all of us,” said Powell. “And LLS proudly and gratefully acknowledges the generosity of our supporters.”
LLS sponsors include National Presenting Sponsor of Survivorship & Hope, Pharmacyclics, LLC, an Abbvie Company and the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, National Presenting Sponsor of Celebration & Community, Kite, a Gilead Company, and the following Light The Night National Partners who contribute immensely to the LLS mission, Leading Lights: Walgreens and The Wawa Foundation; Luminary Sponsors: AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca, BeiGene, Bristol Myers Squibb, Burn Boot Camp, Elbit Systems of America, FIS, Genentech, Pfizer, Takeda Oncology.
For more information or to get involved, visit www.lightthenight.org and follow on social media, @LLSusa, #LightTheNight.
Blood cancer patients and their families should contact the LLS Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., ET
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is a global leader in the fight against cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma. 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 Rye Brook, NY, LLS has regional offices throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more, visit www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the LLS Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., ET.
For additional information visit lls.org/lls-newsnetwork. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Footnote
*Sponsorship funding provided by Janssen Biotech, Inc.