History & Mission:

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest private organization concerned solely with funding research toward cures for blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, and improving the quality of life of patients and their families. The Society was established in 1949 as the deVilliers Foundation, named in memory of Robert Roesler deVilliers who died of leukemia at the age of sixteen.

 The Society is dedicated to being one of the top-rated voluntary health agencies in terms of dollars that directly fund the mission: 75% of the Society’s expenditures are directed to research, patient and community services, advocacy and education.

National Capital Area Chapter:

The Society has 68 chapters nationwide, and the National Capital Area Chapter is the highest revenue-generating chapter in the nation. The National Capital Area Chapter serves Washington, DC; the Maryland counties of Prince George and Montgomery; and the Virginia counties of Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, and Prince William. More than 2,500 patients and their family members are served each year in this chapter. In FY07 alone, the NCA chapter raised more than $12.8 million dollars making it the highest revenue-generating chapter in the nation. The Chapter’s fundraising goal for FY08 is $13.5 million. 

 Disease Information:

Leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma are cancers that affect the blood forming and infection fighting organs –mainly the bone marrow and lymph nodes. They are related because they involve the uncontrolled growth of cells with similar functions and organs. Currently, an estimated 823,000 Americans have blood cancers. Every five minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer and every 10 minutes someone dies.

Leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children under the age of 20. Lymphomas are the most common blood cancers and incidence increases with age. The survival rate for myeloma is only 34 percent. Incidence is nearly twice as high among African Americans as for all other races.

In the past decade, new drugs have been developed and used with increasing success. New horizons in treatment include immunotherary, gene therapy, advances in the use of transplantation and translational research, all under investigation by national and international researchers supported by grants offered by the Society.

Are you a patient, survivor, or caregiver?  Patient Services provides education programs, support groups and social events throughout the year.  Learn more by calling (703) 960-1100 or visiting www.lls.org. 
  

Programs:

• RESEARCH: The Society has invested more than $550 million in research, $64.7 million in fiscal year 2007 alone. Programs like the Specialized Center of Research (SCOR), which brings together teams of scientists from different disciplines and our Translational Research Program, which funds research with a high probability of producing innovative patient treatments in an accelerated time frame, have directly contributed to many breakthrough cancer treatments. 
  The Society funds between 450-480 researchers in 21 countries. Research funded by the Society has led or contributed to advances such as chemotherapy, bone marrow and stem cell transplantation and new, targeted oral therapies such as Gleevec®. In addition, Society funded research has been utilized in other types of cancer treatments, including breast, prostate, ovarian, and gastrointestinal.   
• PATIENT SERVICES: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provides a wide range of services to patients such as family support groups, a peer-support network, an extensive educational web site with web “chat” support programs, free seminars and conferences, a toll-free Information Resource Center staffed by Masters-level nurses and social workers, and patient financial aid.
• ADVOCACY: The Society’s advocacy program has provided a strong voice in Washington, DC, representing the health care quality and medical research interests of patients and their families to policy makers at all levels of government.
• EDUCATION: The Society aims to serve as the world’s foremost source of information on blood-related cancers.   Programs include an Information Resource Center, an extensive collection of free educational materials, professional education and an ever-growing website.

 How Your Dollars Are Used:

Seventy-five cents of every dollar spent goes towards supporting our mission of a cure. Since it’s founding in 1949, the Society has invested more than $550 million in leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research. Society-funded research has led to key advances in understanding blood cancer and the life-saving drugs to fight them.

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