TNT Thursday

It is time for another update on our marathon training with Team in Training. Steve and I will be running in the San Antonio Marathon November 16. While we are training, we are raising awareness and funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Our hope and prayer is that we can help in the race to find a cure for these diseases!

Today is a 'Good News/Bad News day! As with most things, there is Good News and Bad News about the fight against these diseases.

THE GOOD NEWS....

1. The effectiveness of recently developed treatment methods and steady advances in research bring us closer everyday to finding the cause or causes of leukemia and related cancers and probable cures.

2. The survival rates for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), the most common form of childhood leukemia, was an appalling 4 percent in 1960. Today, thanks to research, the survival rate has improved to almost 80 percent! ALL is now considered to be a potentially curable disease!

3. Chemotherapy was initially developed as a treatment for leukemia. Today, it is the standard therapy for most cancers.

4. Bone marrow transplantation was developed as a curative therapy for leukemia. Today, it serves as a promising therapy for curing breast cancer, AIDS and sickle cell anemia.

5. Survival rates for adults patients with ALL, only 4 percent in 1960, approached 45 percent in the last decade.

6. In May 2002, Gleevac, the breakthrough therapy that kills cancer cells without harming normal ones, was shown to be superior to standard therapies to treat CML.

7. Hodgkin's disease is now considered to be one of the most curable forms of malignancy. Survival rates have almost doubled from 40 percent in 1960 to 80 percent today!



The Bad News....

1. Leukemia is one of the leading disease killers of children. In the US, four in ever 100,000 children between the ages of 2 and 10 will be diagnosed with leukemia this year.

2. Every 9 minutes in the U.S., a child or adult dies from leukemia or related cancers: lymphoma, multiple myeloma or Hodgkin's disease.

3. Leukemia strikes 10 times as many adults as children. More than half of all cases of leukemia occur in persons over 60.

4. Leukemia and lymphoma are the leading fatal cancers in women and men under the age of 39.

5. More than 106,300 Americans will be diagnosed with leukemia or a related cancer this year.

6. More than 58,300 Americans will die from leukemia or a related cancer this year - nearly 160 people every day.


Although these look like 'just statistics' - they represent real people whose lives are being turned upside down by the diagnosis of one of these cancers. We need more 'Good News'! With additional research we are hoping that new treatments can be discovered. That the survival rates will continue to rise. We're excited to partner with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society as they race to find a cure. Thanks for partnering with us and encouraging us!

Until Next Time....