ph: (559) 435-1482
Local Staff Contacts
Central California
340 W. Fallbrook Avenue, Suite 101
Fresno, CA 93711
Fresno, CA 93711
LLS Info and Stats
Our goal is to significantly accelerate cures and be the recognized leader in the fight against leukemia and its related cancers. The Society is dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. Since its founding in 1949 the Society has invested $600 million in leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research. Society-funded research has led to key advances in understanding blood cancer and the lifesaving drugs and treatments to fight them.
About the Diseases
Leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma are cancers that originate in the bone marrow and lymphatic tissues. All cancers have two features in common: cells that are abnormal because of altered DNA, and cells that accumulate in excessive amounts. All of these diseases are considered to be related cancers because they involve the uncontrolled growth of cells with similar functions and origins. The diseases result from an acquired genetic injury to the DNA of a single cell, which becomes abnormal (malignant) and multiplies continuously. The accumulation of malignant cells interferes with the body's production of healthy blood cells and can leave the body unable to protect itself against infection.
New Cases and Deaths
It is estimated that leukemia and its related cancers will strike an estimated 138,530 Americans in 2008 and cause the deaths of an estimated 52,910. Leukemia takes more children's lives than any other disease, yet affects 10 times as many adults each year. Every 10 minutes, another child or adult is expected to die from one of the blood-related cancers. This statistic represents 145 people each day or six people every hour. Leukemia is are the leading fatal cancers in young men under age 20.
Treatment
The cause of leukemia remains unknown. The use of chemotherapy, or anti-cancer drugs, usually in combinations of two or more drugs, is largely responsible for the dramatic improvement in managing leukemia and lymphoma. Approximately 50 different drugs are now being used in the treatment of these diseases. Some patients with localized lymphoma may be treated with radiation therapy while others may receive both primary chemotherapy and ancillary radiation therapy and blood and morrow stem cell transplantation.
Several areas of research have resulted in new approaches to the treatment of leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Several very important new drugs and new uses for existing drugs have greatly improved cure rates or remission duration for some patients. Use of interferon-alpha is an important advance in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and one of the more exciting results of recently conducted research is the development of Gleevec(TM), a drug that specifically targets the CML cells. The drug works by annihilating a protein that causes the rampant overproduction of white blood cells.
Programs and Services
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. We offer a wide variety of programs and services in support of our mission to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and to improve the quality of life of patients and their families.
The Society is a nonprofit organization that relies on the generosity of individual and corporate contributions to advance its mission.
WHERE DO YOUR DOLLARS GO?
Research
Since 1949, LLS has invested more than $600 million in research, $71.4 million in fiscal year 2008 alone. Society-funded research has directly contributed to many breakthrough cancer treatments, such as, chemotherapy, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and new, targeted oral therapies such as GleevecTM, might never have happened were it not for the kinds of research funded by LLS.
Patient Services
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provides a wide range of services to patients such as family support groups, an extensive educational web site with web "chat" support programs, free seminars and conferences, and direct patient financial aid.
WE ARE RELENTLESS FOR A CURE!
The bad news?
- There is no known cure.
- Leukemia remains a leading cause of cancer related death in children.
- Leukemia and lymphoma are the leading fatal cancers in young men under 35.
- Every five minutes, someone is newly diagnosed with a blood cancer.
- Every ten minutes, another child or adult is expected to die from a blood-related cancer.
- 950,000 Americans are presently living with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease or myeloma.
The good news?
- In 1960, the five-year survival rate for children with the most common form of leukemia was just 4%. Today, it is 85%!
- A newly FDA approved drug, Gleevec, has been shown to normalize blood counts in nearly all patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). As a result of the success of Gleevec, in 2007, the relative five-year survival rate for CML patients is now at 74.8%.
- Of the forty cancer drugs that have been approved by the FDA in the last eleven years, twenty of them were developed through LLS funding. Six of those are being used to treat patients with not only blood cancers but others indications as well. Another four of those drugs are being tested for treatments of other forms of cancer.
Local Funding and Aid
The Central California Chapter serves the nine counties in Central California and is one of 68 chapters in the U.S. and Canada. Up-to-date educational materials are sent free of charge to local individuals and health care professionals in hospitals, agencies and libraries. In addition, the Chapter provides up to $100 per year for outpatient expenses to patients in our area. Because of the fundraising dollars from past Team In Training participants, the Central California Chapter, in 2011:
- Provided more than $100,000 of financial support to over 300 Central California patients to offset the financial burdens of blood cancer.
- Provided 600 patients with education programs.
- Created over 100 "connections" through our First Connection program. This program is a peer support program which brings together survivors with newly diagnosed patients.
The Research Is Working
Research programs of LLS are based on the belief that all scientifically sound approaches toward a cure for, or control of, leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma should be encouraged on a worldwide basis. More than 350 grantees and 124 institutions of research are working to advance the understanding, treatment and prevention of blood cancer. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society-sponsored research has been the catalyst for effective treatments of Hodgkin's disease, lymphomas and other common kinds of cancer, including stomach, breast and lung cancer. We are now on the threshold of a new era. The hope is that with accelerated funding for research, all blood cancers will be curable by 2015. The commitment to cutting-edge science has contributed to an unprecedented rise in survival rates for some blood cancers. The relative five-year survival rate for people with leukemia, for example, has tripled in the past 40 years. Hodgkin lymphoma is now considered one of the most curable forms of cancer, thanks to radiation, chemotherapy or a combination of the two.
"What does a $25, $50 or $100 donation buy?"
A very good question! You and your donors should know that:
A donation of $25 provides patients and their loved ones with FREE booklets that contain up-to-date information on their disease and help them make informed decisions about their treatment options.
A donation of $50 makes possible a Family Support group with a trained facilitator where comfort can be found and experiences can be shared among patients and family members.
A donation of $100 helps supply laboratory researchers with supplies and materials critical to carrying out their search for cures.
A donation of $500 could provide patient aid to a person with Leukemia or a related cancer for a year.
A donation of $1,000 makes possible one- on-one conversations with health care specialists who provide patients with information about their disease, treatment options, and helps prepare them with questions for their health care team.
