According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, approximately every 3 minutes one person in the United States (US) is diagnosed with a blood cancer. This accounts for 10.2  percent of the estimated 1,685,210 new cancer cases diagnosed in the US in the last year.

Since 1949 the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has been working to find cures and ensure access to treatments for patients who suffer from leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. In their 67 year history the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society has become the world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer.

A key component of the work LLS does is research. LLS invested $67.2 million in 2015 to advance life-saving research. Some of the research programs they offer are:

  • CDP: Career Development Program:  this program is designed to support promising investigators in their developing careers.
  • SCOR: Specialized Center of Research:  this program funds multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary teams of researchers designed to synergistically engage in collaborative efforts to discover new approaches to treat patients with blood cancers.
  • TRP: Translational Research Program:  this program is designed to bring promising preclinical research findings from the laboratory to clinical development.
  • TAP: Therapy Acceleration Program:  a strategic initiative in which they  partner with biotechnology companies to help accelerate the development of promising therapies.
  • New Idea Award:  which funds innovative approaches that may fundamentally change the understanding, diagnosis and/or treatment of blood cancers and related pre-malignant conditions.
  • Special Collaborations:  they also collaborate with foundations and researchers to accelerate research, stimulate innovation and solve disease-specific challenges.

They serve patients through the many programs that they offer. Including, the LLS Beat AML initiative. Acute myeloid leukemia causes more than 10,000 deaths in the U.S. every year. The Beat AML initiative was launched as a collaboration with Dr. Druker, and his team at Oregon Health & Science University’s (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute, and top universities and technology companies to change the way AML is treated and to seek more positive outcomes for patients.

If you’d like to help make a difference in the lives of the patients that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society serves visit their website for more information on how to volunteer.

This week the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society joined PRP.fm on our award-winning Community Voices series. The podcast, featuring interview sessions with members of the organization, are below.

Joe Burt, President/CEO of Pension Plan Specialists

Tam Driscoll, Board member and volunteer

Shira Einstein, Blood cancer survivor

Geri Naumcheff, Tekada Oncology

 

PRP
Latest posts by PRP (see all)