Team ‘Friends Of Heroes’ Announce Opportunity To Name Pediatric Research Grant Bestowed By The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
For Immediate Release
Contacts: Lois Whittaker, Marketing Director, marketing@friendsofheroes.org
TEAM ‘FRIENDS OF HEROES’ ANNOUNCE OPPORTUNITY TO NAME PEDIATRIC RESEARCH GRANT BESTOWED BY THE LEUKEMIA & LYMPHOMA SOCIETY
FOH has raised over $844,000 during the past three years to support the Society’s mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. The
FOH has been successful enough for the past two years, that the Society has bestowed upon it the prestigious honor of having a grant in its name. For the third year in a row, FOH has selected Joseph Wiemels, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, as the grantee to have its name associated with for his outstanding research in the area of childhood leukemia.
“We are trying to answer the question: what causes childhood leukemia?” declares Dr. Wiemels. Dr. Wiemels grant is made under the Society’s Career Development Program (CDP), which funds talented researchers at different points in their developing careers.
Deborah Banker, Ph.D., Vice President of Research Communications for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society states, “Significant progress has been made in curing cancer and improving the long-term survival of children with cancer. Unfortunately, as many as two-thirds of survivors may experience at least one lasting effect of cancer treatments. Many of these are late effects that are life changing or even life threatening, but they might be avoided if cancers could be detected early and full cancer development halted. Dr. Wiemels is applying state-of-the-art genetic techniques so that doctors might be able to recognize cancer progression very early and treat it when it might be easiest to cure without long-term negative effects.”
About Friends of Heroes (FOH)
Friends of Heroes, formerly Friends of Allie, is the first and largest national Friends and Family Team for Light The Night Walk. Motivated by the plight of Allie Scott (www.scotthousehold.com) and other children battling blood cancers like her, a grassroots movement emerged shortly after Allie’s passing, resulting in the formation of FOH and its unprecedented fundraising efforts for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. FOH enlarged its scope to include affiliate teams—both corporate and Friends and Family teams—who share their passion for finding a cure for pediatric blood cancers and making a difference in the lives of families stricken by pediatric blood cancer. Their tagline is “Putting a Face on Childhood Cancer.”
For more information, please visit: www.friendsofheroes.org
About Light The Night Walk
Light The Night Walk is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s nationwide annual evening fundraising walk, held each fall to celebrate and commemorate people whose lives have been touched by cancer. Proceeds from the Walk advance the Society’s efforts to find cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and myeloma, and to provide education and services for patients with these diseases and their families. Participants walk a short distance, carrying lighted balloons—white for survivors, red for supporters, and gold to commemorate lives lost to cancer. Dedication banners provide an opportunity to display a name or message, honoring or commemorating a family member or friend with cancer.
Light The Night is open to all—it does not require a particular level of fitness. In 2006, thousands of people in approximately 250 communities in the United States and Canada participated in a Light The Night Walk event, raising nearly $33 million for research and patient services.
For more information, please visit: www.lightthenight.org
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, headquartered in White Plains, NY, with 68 chapters in the United States and Canada, is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. The Society’s mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since its founding in 1949, the Society has invested more than $550 million in research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Last year alone, the Society made 4.2 million contacts with patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.
For more information about blood cancer, visit www.LLS.org or call the Society’s Information Resource Center (IRC), a call center staffed by master’s level social workers, nurses and health educators who provide information, support and resources to patients and their families and caregivers. IRC information specialists are available at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
