JUNE 2017 34 | FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM {charity spotlight} GIVING BACK It is estimated that every three minutes, someone in the Unites States is diagnosed with a blood cancer, and every nine minutes, someone dies from a blood cancer. It’s expected that over 10 percent of the 1,688,780 new cancer cases diagnosed in the country this year will be leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. Blood cancers, which include leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) affect bone marrow, blood cells, lymph nodes and other parts of the lymphatic system. There is currently no known way to prevent blood cancers, and there are no early detection methods. “There’s no mammogram for leukemia,” said executive director of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Arizona Chapter, Jim Brewer. “There’s no early detection and no prevention.” Fortunately, those diagnosed with one of these cancers are facing new treatment options, and higher survival rates, largely thanks to research funded by organizations like the Leukemia and Lymphoma. Fifty years ago less than 10 percent of those diagnosed with a blood cancer survived, now more than 90 percent of patients survive, according to Brewer. “Even in the last 20 years targeted therapies have changed the treatment landscape,” he said. “There won’t be one single cure for cancer. There will be a cornucopia of different things that can help depending on what kind of cancer you have.” The CAUSE Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Jamie Killin | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

JUNE 2017 FRONTDOORSMEDIA .COM | 35 Photo Credit: Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 2016 WOMAN OF THE YEAR Geri Farr