Hi, my name is Timothy Le, and I am a senior at Walter Johnson High School. I am raising funds for LLS in memory of my grandfather who died from cancer, as well as my father who was affected by this disease. My research project with CAR T-cell therapy that I did this past summer opened my eyes to the intricate process of how immune cells are engineered to eradicate cancer cells, how therapy side effects are mitigated, and how disparities still plague the healthcare system. This motivated me to look further into the field of medicine to help patients in the future, but it also inspired me to take action sooner so that I can make a positive impact on blood cancer patients and communities as a whole.

Since its founding in 1949, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has:

• Invested more than $1.5 billion in blood cancer research leading to advances in chemotherapy, bone and stem cell transplantation, immunotherapies, and targeted therapies that precisely target the genetic drivers of the cancer while sparing healthy tissue. Approximately 40% of cancer therapies approved by the FDA between 2000 and 2017 were first approved to treat blood cancer patients, and these breakthroughs were able to help patients with many other types of cancers, not just leukemia and lymphoma.
• Provided free education and support for blood cancer patients and families, including personalized, one-on-one support, assistance with identifying and enrolling in clinical trials, and more. Programs include the Information Resource Center (a toll-free call center staffed with healthcare professionals to perform hundreds of clinical trial searches for patients), the Co-Pay Assistance Program (helps patients afford insurance co-pays and premiums, providing $362 million in support, helping over 79,000 patients since 2007), the Patti Robinson Kaufmann program (where trained blood cancer survivors are matched with newly diagnosed patients to share their experiences), and the Susan Lang Pay-it-Forward Travel Assistance Program (helps patients with transportation to help them get to their health care providers).
• Mobilized thousands of advocates to drive policy changes that accelerate the development of new cancer treatments and break down barriers to care. For example, the policy and advocacy team has helped pass laws in 43 states plus Washington D.C. to ensure equity in cost-sharing for thousands of patients who rely on orally administered cancer treatments

Donations are accepted up through June. Please consider joining this fight by donating to support the cause! On behalf of blood cancer patients everywhere, thank you! For more information about LLS, please visit www.lls.org. If you have any questions, feel free to email me at timothyle0719@gmail.com