Saturday, September 13, 2008

September is Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month

September is an important month for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). It is when LLS, in addition to its ordinary work helping patients, caregivers, and working with medical professionals, also spends time building awareness of the toll LLS takes on our society. I just wanted to share a few facts and figures for you, to give you an idea of why I am riding on behalf of LLS with Team in Training.

Some important facts:

  • 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, it 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.
These are just some of the reasons why I am working so hard to ride 109 miles in one day on November 22nd. If nearly one million people can live with blood cancer, I can surely dedicate myself to the cause for a short time.

I hope you will join me in helping raise awareness of Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma, and support the mission of LLS by donating here.

Thanks, and see you on the road!

1 comment:

Beacon said...

In the UK, the Lymphoma Association and Leukaemia CARE have launched a website to raise people's awareness of their lymphatic symptoms and of lymphoma. Take the quiz by visiting:
www.knowyournodes.org.uk