The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Blog

Love, Leukemia and Light The Night

communityreply@lls.org — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:33:05 GMT

^{Lonny & Holly}

Like many brides, Holly Jukiewicz is looking forward to her wedding this June where she will marry the love of her life, Lonny Warner. They met online just over two years ago, and decided to meet in person just a month later. That same week they both realized that this was the relationship that they had been looking for, and decided that they were not interested in dating anyone else. That September, Holly accepted Lonny’s proposal through happy tears.

A few months ago, Holly received an email from a co-worker asking for support for her daughter’s participation in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Light The Night Walk. Holly didn’t hesitate to donate because she was touched by the young girl’s involvement in Light The Night.

There's another reason Holly was moved to donate. When her fiancé Lonny was just a few months old he was diagnosed with leukemia and he was is treatment for the next several years. His entire family was affected. His brothers often had to stay with other family members while their parents and Lonny were away at the hospital. And Lonny has memories of the dreaded trip over the George Washington Bridge into New York City -- that was the route they took when he had to go for treatment. The family was determined to get Lonny into remission, and he beat the leukemia.

Holly has supported Light The Night in the past. But this time she and Lonny decided that it would be fitting to share their gift with their wedding guests by having LLS-themed place cards. Holly told her co-worker, “If this can help any other person or little kid avoid going through what Lonny and his family went through --and still have memories of --then it is time and money well spent.”

It’s clear that Holly has nothing but praise and love for her future husband and his family. “I thank God every day that he and his family were so strong to get through this illness when he was so very young. I am so blessed to be part of his family and my family feels the same way about all of them as I do.”

Learn more about Light The Night by visiting www.lightthenight.org or reading @LLS.

Find out more about childhood blood cancers by visiting the main LLS website or by calling our Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572.

Show your Valentine you have heart - make a donation to LLS in Honor of your sweetheart and support life-saving cancer research.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Innovates for 60 Years

communityreply@lls.org — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:20:10 GMT

If you are a regular visitor to www.LLS.org you’ll notice that our logo has undergone a change in honor of our 60th anniversary. That’s right – in 1949 The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) was created by a family who had lost their 16-year-old son to leukemia just a short five years prior. At the time they named the organization after their son, calling it the Robert Roesler de Villiers Foundation.

In the sixty years since first working out of a small office on Wall Street, LLS has become the leading nationwide organization in the fight against blood cancers. No longer are leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma considered almost fatal diseases as they once were in 1949. Through innovative efforts LLS has helped to significantly increase survival rates of these blood cancers, and remains committed to stay on the forefront in the following areas:

Research – Our new Therapy Acceleration Program allows us to help facilitate the rapid development of promising new therapies that might otherwise go undeveloped.

Patient Services – 80,000 inquiries about blood cancers, treatments, resources and other critical issues were handled by our Information Resource Center in 2008 alone.

Advocacy – We have championed the first legislation in the country to provide neuro-psychological testing for pediatric cancer survivors.

Fundraising – Team In Training® (TNT) has raised almost $1 billion for blood cancer research and patient services in the 20 years that it has existed, and continues to be a strong fundraising force with the active support of its participants.

We have created a special website dedicated to LLS’s 60th anniversary where you can learn more about the innovations we’ve made and the people we have directly impacted on this journey. Visit now at www.LLS.org/innovation, and you’ll discover how and why we’re on the cutting edge.

Has The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society helped you or a loved one? Tell us about your story on our online community. Note: You’ll need to create a free account in order to post your story.

Want to give back? Make a safe and secure online donation to help us continue our mission of eradicating blood cancers.

A comprehensive look at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society [Video]

communityreply@lls.org — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:46:54 GMT

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is an extraordinarily busy non-profit. We’ve got patient programs, research funding initiatives, advocacy programs and so many events that it’s hard to decide which one (or ones) to participate in. Even for someone who works here, it’s hard to fully comprehend the breadth of work that we do on behalf of our mission to fight blood cancers.

We just posted our most recent video that gives the public a chance to see and listen to staff, including our CEO, John Walter, talk about what we’re doing in the fight against blood cancers. It's 10 minutes long and well worth the watch.

Also check out our great mission video that features real blood cancer patients and/or their families.

Share your thoughts in a comment below – did you learn something new about LLS through these videos?