Once again, the Wilson Family is helping to organize and are participating in a Leukemia Cup fundraising regatta at American Yacht Club on September 24th, 2022. This event will benefit the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) a life saving organization that has seeded numerous blood cancer breakthroughs and provides invaluable support to patients and their families.
We know about LLS’ great work from personal experience. As many of you may know, 20 years ago Judy was diagnosed with a blood cancer called Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), when her daughters, Molly and Hope were in still in elementary school. While Judy’s initial prognosis was not promising, a breakthrough drug therapy, initially funded largely by LLS enabled Judy to fight leukemia and ultimately become cancer-free today. You can find more detail on Judy’s story below.
Thanks to the outstanding generosity of many individuals and organizations, previous AYC Leukemia Cups have been hugely successful. After a COVID hiatus we will once again have a gala party and paddle raise this year at American YC after a special day of sailing on Long Island Sound
Please join us in supporting the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, whether by donating to our team, sailing in the Leukemia Cup and fundraising for your own team, or coming to the party. All of these will support LLS’s work to beat blood cancer.
Please go to our event webpage to learn more about the American YC Leukemia Cup.
Donor Advised Fund Information:
Judy’s story:
Twenty years ago, Judy went to her doctor for a routine blood test and was diagnosed with a blood cancer called Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). The only potential cure at the time was a risky and painful bone marrow transplant, but Judy did not match with any donors in her family or in the worldwide donor registry. Thanks to pioneering research supported by the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, a new drug called Gleevec (STI571) was just finishing its experimental trials. No one knew its long-term survival rates or side effects, but with limited options, Judy decided to try it. Within three months Judy was in remission, and Gleevec turned out to be a pivotal development in cancer treatment around the world.
Gleevec's major innovation is that it precisely targets the "bad" (cancerous) cells, while largely leaving the good cells intact. This medical breakthrough has not only transformed treatment for CML but has also paved the way for many advances in other cancer treatments. When Judy’s cancer came back after five years in remission, two new treatment options had already been developed building on Gleevec’s advances. Another five years later Judy voluntarily switched to yet a newer drug with even fewer side effects. In 2016, after learning directly from LLS about clinical trials underway in which 50% of patients who stopped their daily chemotherapy drug remained in remission, Judy decided to try stopping her medication altogether (with close monitoring from her doctor at Sloan Kettering). Despite a minor initial relapse, today Judy is proudly off her medication and cancer-free.
The LLS has a record of sponsoring research often deemed too speculative by traditional government and corporate funding sources that spans 73 years and exceeds $1.5 billion in research funding. Nearly every breakthrough in cancer treatment has emerged from LLS support of leukemia research, from chemotherapy to groundbreaking CAR T-cell immunotherapy. With more than $65 million committed to leukemia research, LLS is leading the way to cures. As thankful beneficiaries of LLS’s willingness to bet on a possible revolutionary treatment for CML, the Wilson family is excited to help raise money to repeat this success in other blood cancers. Avenues being pursued with promising early results include immunotherapy, precision medicines other targeted therapies. For more detail, look at the LLS website.
THANKS!!!
