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A Starting Place to Prioritize Your Mental Health
Coping with a blood cancer diagnosis and the whirlwind of experiences that follows can be physically, mentally, and emotionally draining for everyone impacted by it.
Whether you're a patient or caregiver, you begin to realize your life will never be the same.
Another First: FDA Approves Car T-Immunotherapy for Treatment of Aggressive Form of Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the CAR T-cell treatment axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®) for patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) that has returned or worsened despite earlier treatment. FL is the most common slow-growing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and while the disease can generally be managed, reoccurrence is common.
Why We Love Nurses (And You Should Too!)
It makes sense that at diagnosis and throughout treatment, someone diagnosed with a blood cancer will look around them for answers or support.
Another Win for Lymphoma Patients
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s latest approval of a blood cancer therapy is encouraging news for a group of lymphoma patients with a very rare subset of the disease called primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL). The approval is for patients who have relapsed after two or more prior lines of therapy or who did not respond to therapy at all.
Impact of Insurance Type and Cost Sharing on Equity in Access to Oral Anticancer Medications for Blood Cancers
This project will evaluate the association of insurance type with insurer rejection and patient abandonment of new OAM prescriptions for blood cancers, overall and by sociodemographic factors. It will also evaluate the association of cost sharing with patient abandonment of OAM prescriptions for blood cancers and conduct simulations under alternative cost sharing scenarios to inform policy reform proposals among commercially insured enrollees.A Snowy Day in Atlanta to Commence #ASH17
The 59th ASH (American Society of Hematology) Annual Meeting & Exposition kicks off tomorrow here in Atlanta, drawing more than 25,000 researchers, physicians, biopharmaceutical company executives, patient advocates and industry experts from around the world to share the latest scientific clinical data in the blood cancers and other blood disorders.
Zebrafish: A New Way to Study Leukemia
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.
Struggling with Weight Gain During Treatment
Unplanned weight gain is not usually discussed as a side effect of cancer treatment, but when it happens, a patient can experience other possible negative effects.
Another Option: Clinical Trials
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.
Researchers Share Key Career Advice with LLS College Club Members
I recently had the privilege of moderating an LLS on Campus Researcher Panel attended by LLS college club members from nearly 30 universities across the country. These clubs bring together students interested in pursuing health-related careers and provide opportunities to hear from scientists working to better understand and treat blood cancers.
Clinical Trials: Why They Matter and How to Make Them More Accessible
Cancer treatments can be lifesaving. As an organization, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has invested more than $1.7 billion in blood cancer research since its inception in 1949—all with the hope that this research leads to scientific breakthroughs that improve and save lives.
But to make sure this research leads to safe and innovative treatments, we have to thoroughly test it.
Born with leukemia, Eevie beats the odds and turns five!
After Eevie was born, she was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood blood cancer that affects 1 in 5 million newborns. Doctors gave her a 17 percent chance of surviving to age 2. This month, Eevie celebrates her fifth birthday. Each year her mother Brynne has shared her progress on this blog (you can read those stories here).
Asparaginase erwinia chrysanthemi
Asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi is an asparagine specific enzyme indicated as a component of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who have developed hypersensitivity to E. coli-derived asparaginase.
A Day in LLS History
On October 20, 1944, Robert “Robbie” Roesler de Villiers was only 16 years old when he died from leukemia. Robbie’s parents, Rudolph and Antoinette, were stricken with grief and frustrated by the lack of effective treatments for what was then considered a hopeless disease.
After five years of mourning their son, they started a fundraising and education organization in his name. The Robert Roesler de Villiers Foundation had only a few volunteers and a tiny budget.
#ASH15 Day 4: Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Novel Immunotherapy
Yesterday we learned the exciting news that the FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for an investigational immunotherapy LLS is supporting through our Therapy Acceleration Program (TAP).
Precision Medicine and Immunotherapy @ ASCO16
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (#ASCO16) annual meeting featured several significant oral scientific presentations on the blood cancers over the weekend here in Chicago.
Surviving AML: The Long Road Back
“Hola,” I said playfully, as I answered my cell phone on a beautiful Saturday -- April 21, 2012. “This is Dr. so and so. I’m calling because your blood work from yesterday is all out of whack.” “What do you mean, ‘Out of whack?’” “Your white blood cell count is high,” he said. “What’s high? “It's at 63,000.” “And what's it supposed to be?” “10,000.”
Targeting AML
Not for lack of trying, we’ve seen very little progress over the past 40 years in treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML), an aggressive and deadly blood cancer. But we’re finally starting to see the needle move and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is playing a leading role in going on the offensive against the disease.
Thank You to Our Extraordinary LLS Volunteers
You may have driven an important project to the finish line or reached a new fundraising goal. Perhaps you comforted someone in need, greeted families with a warm smile or raised your voice to influence change. I hope we get the opportunity to meet one day (if we haven’t already), but until then: our heartfelt thanks go out to you, our incredible volunteers.
You are at the heart of our quest to find cancer cures, and our gratitude to you runs deep because you are truly the driving force behind our mission.