The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Blog

Free Telephone Education Programs for Patients and Caregivers

communityreply@lls.org — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:35:27 GMT

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is proud to offer telephone education programs for blood cancer patients and their caregivers. These programs, which require free registration, are both informative and interactive for those dealing with specific types of blood cancer or certain treatment topics.

Free registration is now available for these upcoming October programs.

October 14, 2009 - Treating Uncommon Lymphomas: Dialogue with an Expert on T-Cell, Malt, and Waldenström Macroglobulinemia

October 29, 2009 – Managing Myeloma: An Expert’s Update

Check the National Education Programs page often to see what is available, or visit any of the archive pages to listen to past programs, download transcripts or to access highlights from many of the past programs (archive pages can be found in each disease education series section – for example, there is a link to the archived programs on the Myeloma Education Series page).

Need assistance? Call the Information Resource Center at (800) 955-4572 and someone will be able to answer your question or steer you in the right direction.

In the News: A Possible Link between 9/11 and Myeloma

communityreply@lls.org — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:30:18 GMT

A report in the news this week suggests that 9/11 responders to the World Trade Center may be at an increased risk for myeloma. The report’s authors caution that their findings are very preliminary, however so far eight responders have been diagnosed with myeloma, four of whom are men who were diagnosed when they were younger than 45 years. Myeloma typically is diagnosed in persons who are aged 50 years or older.

While some say that it is possible for these myeloma cases to be linked to these patients’ time at Ground Zero, there is also admission that it could just be a coincidence. "In all fairness, it is unusual for this patient population to have multiple myeloma but it's not unheard of," explains Dr. Denise Pereira, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "But a lot of the things they were exposed to, such as benzene, have in the past possibly been implicated with an increased incidence in the cancer. It does make theoretical sense."

This report appears in the August issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine; to read the full news article visit HealthDay.

If you’d like to learn more about myeloma, here are some myeloma resources you can find on The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) website.

Find out about causes, signs and symptoms and much more in the Myeloma section on www.LLS.org.
Order or download these free booklets, Myeloma and The Myeloma Guide: Information for Patients and Caregivers.
Already living with myeloma or are taking care of a loved one with myeloma? Some myeloma patients may qualify for the Co-Pay Assistance Program.

As always, our Information Resource Center specialists are available to take your questions Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST at (800) 955-4572. You may also contact them online.

Myeloma Patients Should Apply for Co-Pay Assistance

communityreply@lls.org — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:45:17 GMT

A few weeks ago we shared a post on financial insecurity and blood cancer treatment, sharing with you some helpful links to information and programs provided by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). In this post, we wanted to highlight the personal side of our Co-Pay Assistance Program and share with you a couple of stories about myeloma patients who have benefited from this program.

Kalimah Jenkins, a 44-year-old African American from Atlanta, GA, was stunned to find out that her bone pain and fatigue were symptoms of myeloma, a difficult blood cancer. She was equally as shocked when she found out how expensive her treatment would be, and wasn’t sure how she would be able to pay for the drugs she needed. It was in her favor that her doctors knew about LLS’s Co-Pay Assistance Program, which helped her pay for her critical treatment.

Cislyn Blackwood, a 60-year-old from Fresno, CA, also a myeloma patient, has also benefited from the Co-Pay Assistance Program. Her treatment was already very expensive, but after being laid off from her job and her COBRA benefits running out, her financial situation became ever more challenging. She received the funds she needed through LLS's Co-Pay Assistance Program and was able to pay for her medication.

Both women say that LLS’s program has been a tremendous help, and are grateful that they found out about it; unfortunately, some myeloma patients who can’t afford it wind up going off of life-saving treatment.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with myeloma, visit www.lls.org/copay or call (877) LLS-COPAY to find out if you or they qualify for assistance. Note that other blood cancer patients may quality for assistance as well.

If you are a doctor, visit www.lls.org/copayproviders to find out how you can apply for the Co-Pay Assistance Program on behalf of your patients.

Learn more about Kalimah’s and Cislyn’s stories.

Patient Programs Update

communityreply@lls.org — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:47:56 GMT

This time of year we all seem to have so much more to do. Why not plan some things just for you? If you have myeloma or know someone who does, check out our new fall program at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). We also have several local events (Chapter Education Programs) about all types of blood cancers going on throughout the year. Included below are some offerings you may want consider in the coming weeks and months.

National Education Programs

October 15, 2008 - Understanding Myeloma: From Diagnosis Through Treatment. Register now for this telephone education program which will feature Dr. Asher A. Chanan-Khan. Participants will have a chance to ask Dr. Chanan-Khan questions during this hour and a half program.

Chapter Education Programs

Contact your local chapter about the availability of the following programs in your area:

Welcome Back: Facilitating the School Experience for Childhood Cancer Survivors - Note that parents are also welcome at this event.
Getting the Best Cancer Care at Age 55 and Older
Milestones in Myeloma Therapy: An Overview for Patients and Caregivers
The Road to Discovery: Emerging Therapies in Blood Cancers

There are also other programs that occur all throughout the year. Find out more about the following on-going programs:

Family Support Groups - These are regularly scheduled meetings that bring together patients, families and friends.
First Connection - Be matched with someone who has been through a similar cancer experience. Volunteers are also welcome to join this program.
Chat Sessions - Every Monday and Wednesday NHL patients are welcome to come online and chat about their cancer experience.

As always, feel free to share suggestions, ideas or questions with our Information Resource Center staff. Contact us via our Contact Us form or by phone at 1-800-955-4572. Or just visit us at www.LLS.org.

September is Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month

communityreply@lls.org — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:41:12 GMT

September is an important month for us at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). It is a special time when our ongoing collaboration with patients, caregivers and medical professionals is highlighted by our campaign for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma awareness. Please join us in this campaign to educate more people about blood cancer.

Here are some quick facts* you can share on your own websites, blogs, social networks or in conversations with friends.

Today more than 894,000 people in the United States are living with a type of blood cancer.
Today about 75 percent of children with acute leukemia and nearly 80 percent of children and adults with Hodgkin lymphoma are cured.
Every ten minutes someone dies from a blood cancer.
An estimated 52,910 people will die from a blood cancer this year.
Since LLS began in 1949, our organization has invested more than $600 million in research to find cures and better therapies.
This year alone, LLS will dedicate $71.4 million to research.

Another thing you can do this month is help our Public Policy team work to get September officially recognized as Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month by your state. How does this help? It ensures that there will be more media coverage around the month, which means more people will learn about blood cancers. It also means more people could support the fight to eradicate cancer. Contact your local LLS chapter to learn more about how you can help.

Learn more about leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma on the LLS website at www.LLS.org, or contact the Information Resource Center with any blood cancer questions.

*Note that these statistics are for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma only.

Blood cancer resources for Spanish (Español) and French (Français) populations

communityreply@lls.org — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:24:04 GMT

We have many resources in English, but in case you didn’t know we have resources that can be of help to people whose native language might not be English.

Free Materials

Available in Spanish (Español) and French (Français)

Free materials are available in Spanish (Español) - you can download a PDF or order a printed copy - and French (Français), but you can download a PDF only. When you are on the www.LLS.org website look in the left-hand column and click on Patient Services, then Free Materials, then you will see Spanish Publications (Publicaciones españolas) and French Publications (Editions françaises).

Financial Assistance

Available in Spanish (Español)

Need financial assistance? Spanish-language speakers (las personas que hablan español) can download our Patient Financial Aid application in Spanish (Solicitud de ayuda económica para pacientes) as a PDF. There is also a handy step-by-step guide in Spanish (Cómo solicitar la inscripción en el programa de ayuda económica para pacientes) to help you fill out the application.

Free Newsletters

Available in Spanish (Español)

Visit the following pages in our National Education Programs section for access to our downloadable Spanish newsletters (boletines españoles) available as PDFs.

Lymphoma News page for NHL Descubrimiento Horizontes
CML News Links page for Enlaces con información sobre LMC
Myeloma News page for Noticias sobre el mieloma

Can’t find what you need? Let us know here by leaving a comment or by contacting our Information Resource Center by calling (800) 955-4572 or filling out our online form.

Cleared for takeoff – “The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Blog” launches!

communityreply@lls.org — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 19:14:44 GMT

Today we are launching The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s first blog! There are a few things that we hope to accomplish with this new communication tool, but most of all we want to make this an informative and interesting destination for you: patients, caregivers, and anyone else affected by any of the blood cancers.

A few topics we plan to cover are advocacy, teleconferences, news articles, and more…

We’d love to get ideas from you, though. What do YOU want us to write about? (To comment you must first register if you haven’t already – registration is easy and free!)

To make sure you are the first to know when we have posted a new blog entry subscribe to our RSS feed. Or you can bookmark this webpage in your browser and visit us often.