Lymphoma

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Do Not Miss this Educational Event!

The fourteenth annual North American Education Forum on Lymphoma, the most comprehensive lymphoma-specific educational conference on the continent, will be held this year from October 23 through October 25 in Brooklyn, New York. The goal of the 2 ½ day program is to provide information about treatment options for the various subtypes of lymphoma, patient support issues, and the latest in lymphoma research to people with lymphoma and their loved ones.

Drugs to treat Inflammatory bowel diseases raise lymphoma risk

A study published online in The Lancet suggests that patients who took certain drugs in an effort to keep inflammatory bowel diseases in remission may have a significantly higher risk of developing certain lymphomas.

What diseases were being treated?

Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis.

What drugs were given?

Thiopurines such as Mercaptopurine (aka 6-mercaptopurine, 6-MP, Purinethol) and Azathioprine (aka Azasan, Imuran).

Hockey Fights Cancer campaign starts tonight

As a lifelong diehard hockey fan, I can't pass up passing along the fact that starting tonight, Friday October 9 the NHL kicks off its Hockey Fights Cancer campaign. Through October, each NHL team hosts a "Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Night", with fundraisers and other awareness-raising efforts.

To date, the campaign has raised over $10 million—cash that goes towards research and awareness on both the local and national levels.

Drew Olanoff auctioning his Twitter name to fight cancer

I'm reading over at Mashable about another great effort by Drew Olanoff to raise money and awareness for Hodgkin's Disease. Recall that he began the Blame Drew's Cancer campaign some months ago, which was a killer idea. And now he's got another good one.

Lymphoma and the swine flu vaccine

A number of people are concerned about the swine flu epidemic and how lymphoma or chemo factor in; I'll try to address what I've learned here.

In brief: The nasal spray version of the swine flu vaccine is not recommended because it is a live strain and can cause problems. However, the injection version is inactivated and is recommended. Additionally, the regular ol' seasonal flu vaccine is also recommended for these patients.

Call to Action for Cancer Care Improvement Act

Representatives Lois Capps and Charles Boustany have introduced the Comprehensive Cancer Care Improvement Act (H.R. 1844), which would improve care for lymphoma patients by encouraging comprehensive cancer care planning from the point of diagnosis through primary treatment and into survivorship. Remember: legislators will not support the bill unless they hear from you!

Eating Well with Cancer

Your disease and treatment may increase your body's need for calories and protein. Chemotherapy, certain other drug therapies and radiation therapy also create a need for more calories and protein each day. At the same time, the side effects of your treatment may make it a challenge for you to take in enough calories and protein.
Some nutrition tips to help you get enough calories and protein:

Implants teach the immune system to ID cancer

Researchers at Harvard University are experimenting with a way to stimulate the immune system to recognize and fight cancers, and they may have found a way to do it using doped implants.

These implants are tiny biodegradable discs full of something known as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, a substance that attracts the immune system's dendritic cells—the same cells that lock on to bacteria and viruses, then carry them to the lymph nodes—where T-cells are waiting to kill them.

New Jersey blood cancers conference open to the public

If you're in or around the New Jersey area on September 26, 2009 and want to hear what some of the nation's top lymphoma experts have to say, and maybe even corner one or two of them to get answers to some of your pressing questions, check out the Hematological Malignancies Conference at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, NJ.

September is Lymphoma Awareness Month

Display your commitment to Lymphoma Awareness and encourage everyone you meet to Go Lime Green For Lymphoma Awareness Month.

Join a team to participate in an endurance event as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All Team In Training members raise funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. Members completing this event in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. These people are the real heroes, and your support is needed to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!