National Blood Cancer Awareness Month
This week we wanted to take a moment to explain the importance of this month and what it means to millions across the country.
This month is National Blood Cancer Awareness Month, a month meant to raise awareness about blood cancers as well as raise funds for cures and innovations for patients battling cancer. Every 3 minutes, someone in the US is diagnosed with blood cancer and there are more than 1.3 million people in just the United States who currently have or are in remission from a type of blood cancer, the three most common being Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Melanoma.
Leukemia
Leukemia is a type of cancer found in your blood and bone marrow, this blood cancer affects your white blood cells. The four major types of Leukemia are chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The top 2 forms of childhood cancer are ALL and AML respectively. Research has shown that there have been vastly improved outcomes for children diagnosed with ALL. AML is common in adults as well and is one of the most common adult leukemias, the second most common being CML. Leukemia can be either acute or chronic. The main difference between the two lies in the speed of their onset, with acute leukemia progressing at a faster rate than chronic leukemia and requiring immediate treatment. Leukemia is also classified as lymphocytic or myelogenous. Leukemias are the most common cancer in children and account for more than 30% of all childhood cancers.
Lymphoma
Lymphomas, or cancers of the lymphatic system, account for almost half of all blood cancers that occur yearly. There are two types of lymphomas: Hodgins and non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in the US, with about 72k new cases a year. It’s a type of lymphoma that may arise in lymph nodes anywhere in the body, while Hodgkin's lymphoma typically begins in the upper body near the neck, chest, or armpits. Hodgkin lymphoma is often diagnosed at an early stage and is therefore considered one of the most treatable cancers.
Melanoma
Melanoma is another form of cancer that starts in the cells that produce melanin for your body, also known as melanocytes. There are 4 main types of skin Melanoma: Nodular Melanoma, Superficial Spreading Melanoma, Acral lentiginous Melanoma and Lentigo Melanoma. The vast majority of melanomas are caused through exposure from the sun. Through research in a study taken place in the UK, they found that about 86 percent of melanomas are directly correlated to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Unfortunately, melanoma directly accounts for 7% of new male cancer cases and 4% of female cancer cases.
How Can You Help?
This awareness month was created by Congress in 2017 to highlight these facts and raise awareness for these blood cancers. These 3 forms of blood cancer are the most common and multiple organizations throughout the country aim to combat these cancers including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You can help today by going to the link below and donating to LLS to help adults and children across the country with their battle against blood cancers.
August Recap
This past month, we have successfully published 4 Donor’s Digest posts and 1 post on our new series called ‘A Professional’s Perspective’. Along with this, we have been working on our next Professional’s Perspective post featuring Ms. Erica Jenson, the Senior Vice President of Member Engagement, Enrollment, and Experience. We were so fortunate to get the chance to have an interview with her and talk more about what goes on at Be The Match headquarters. Please be on the lookout for this post coming out soon next week! If you haven’t already, please take a moment to look back at our previous posts. That about wraps up our August recap!
Be on the lookout for our next blog post on September 12!
