"My personal goal was to live until the next LLS conference because each year the research was improving."

Calvin Harkless and his wife make the drive from Edmond, OK to Dallas, TX every year to attend the North Texas Cancer Expo presented by Briggs Equipment.  They make a point not to miss it.  Why?  We'll let Calvin tell you in his own inspiring words.

"I was diagnosed December 24, 2010 with stage four multiple myeloma, cancer of the bone marrow. On January 5, 2011 I started weekly IV chemo infusions. I had no idea it would be four years and four months later before being taken off of all cancer treatment and drugs. 

My wife and I made it our mission to attend the North Texas Cancer Expo (formerly the North Texas Blood Cancer Conference) sponsored by The Leukemia &Lymphoma Society (LLS) each year. In 2011, we attended our first LLS conference and was overwhelmed by the information on Multiple Myeloma and other blood cancers. While attending the various sessions I recall thinking “I have a new paradigm for a hero.” The men and women, who dedicate their life to research and technology to find a cure for cancer, there can be no higher calling.

Having access to the top researchers in blood cancer, face to face Q&A with pharmaceutical representatives, networking with other blood cancer patients and care providers and hearing the many inspiring testimonies were invaluable. The LLS conference became my Christmas, each year anxiously waiting to hear about the new drugs approved and future research on blood cancer. My personal goal was to live until the next LLS conference because each year the research was improving.   

The highlight of attending the LLS conference was in 2012 after the FDA approved Velcade to be administered subcutaneous. The announcement was made during a presentation at the conference. At my next appointment with my oncologist, I shared the information on the FDA approval of Velcade to be administered subcutaneous and provided supporting documentation collected from the conference. This began the process of changing the hospital protocol from IV to subcutaneous injections. The following week the pharmaceutical representative confirmed the FDA approval during a doctor visit. I became very emotional having my chemo infusion for the first time subcutaneous. Each year after attending the LLS conference I would share with my oncologist the current research on Multiple Myeloma.

I was taken off of cancer treatment and drugs on May 2015.  In August 2016 no multiple myeloma cells were found active in my body. My wife and I will always be an advocate for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society."

Don't miss your opportunity to participate in the FREE 2017 North Texas Cancer Expo presented by Briggs Equipment.  Registration is now open for the expo as well as the general and healthcare sessions.  The event is free but requires registration.  

Saturday, September 16th
Omni Hotel, Dallas, TX
8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

www.ntxcancerexpo.org

Meet Heather Evans - New LLS Staff

Heather Evans has been involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since 2008 when she began as a volunteer for the Georgia chapter. She lost her grandfather to Multiple Myeloma so she says that she will fight until there is a cure. Heather will be managing the Team In Training program in North Texas.  Below she answered a couple questions about herself.

1. Tell us about your nonprofit background.

I have been involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since 2008. I began as a volunteer and intern with Georgia Chapter of Light The Night. I worked on the Atlanta event in 2008 and after my internship finished, I transitioned into a coordinator position with Student Series. I worked with schools across Georgia to implement planning meetings and school assemblies. During the 2008- 2009 school year, Georgia schools raised nearly $509,000 to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. In January 2010, I transitioned back to Light The Night as a Campaign Manager. I worked with 15 corporate teams in Metro Atlanta and also oversaw the event in Albany, GA. In addition to working on Student Series and Light The Night, I also started training for my first Team In Training event as a teammate in 2009 and served as Team In Training Mentor in 2010.

2. What attracted you to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society?

The mission. I lost my grandfather to Multiple Myeloma . At the end of his battle he was in ICU; I was too young at the time to go up to the ICU floor. My grandfather passed away the day he was supposed to come home; I never got to say goodbye in person. I remember getting home from school that day, excited to go to visit him. My mom should have been waiting for me, but it was my dad’s car parked in the driveway; dad was always home for dinner, but not usually earlier during the work week. I knew as soon as I saw my dad’s car that my grandfather hadn’t made it home that day. I miss him every day and I am committed to finding a cure, so no one else has to lose their grandfather or grandmother, mother or father, son or daughter, brother or sister, or friend or any other member of their family. I will fight until there is a cure.

3. What do you think is so interesting about working with teams and individuals in a fundraising capacity?

The best part about helping others reach their fundraising goals is when they make it! People come to Team In Training for a variety of reasons; some of a connection to the mission, others have a fitness goal, but no matter what originally brought them to TNT, nothing beats the feeling of knowing you have reached your fundraising goal, and those dollars that you have raised will go towards making tremendous strides in the fight against blood cancers!

4. What are you most looking forward to with the Team In Training Campaign this year?

Having participated in TNT myself, I always look most forward to watching the teammates cross the finish line in their purple jersey. I hope that all teammates wear their purple with pride. Completing an endurance event isn’t easy, but these amazing teammates complete their events while also raising thousands of dollars for blood cancer. Whether it’s someone’s first or fiftieth TNT event, there is so much to celebrate as they cross the finish line; because of them we are one step closer to a cure.


5. What do you want people to know about you?

I live by the saying that “Life is a journey…not a destination.” It’s been written across my feet since I was eighteen years old; after all, our feet are the means by which we take our journey.  I have a passion for travel and have visited over twenty-five countries.  I am committed to making my own journey on this planet and everyone’s as meaningful as possible.

You can find Heather in and out of our Dallas office.  She can be reached via email at heather.evans@lls.org or phone at 972.996.5939. Welcome to LLS!  We are so excited to have you on board.

You're Invited: Blood Cancer Community Social

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) invites you to attend an interactive dinner, education and networking event in honor of Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month.  The North Texas Myeloma Support Group will open the program with a mission moment form a myeloma survivor.  Then, Katie Narvarte, LMSW and survivorship navigator for Medical City/Sarah Cannon, will talk about the many faces of survivorship and how to honor your own experience.  Finally, Don Armstrong, AML survivor and motivational speaker, will share strategies he learned from his cancer journey.

Everyone is welcome to attend this complimentary event.  Survivors, caregivers, families and friends will all walk away from something from this interactive event.

Details:

Wednesday, March 15th

5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

LLS North Texas Chapter - Dallas Office

8111 LBJ Fwy., Ste 425

Dallas, TX 75251

Complimentary dinner will be provided.

Registration for this FREE program is required.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Space is limited!

For more information contact Seetha Modi at seetha.modi@lls.org or (972) 996-5905.

Meet Dean Smith: Over the Edge Honored Hero

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is honored to introduce you to the Dean Smith, the Honored Hero for the North Texas Chapter's newest campaign: Over the Edge.  Smith, currently in treatment for multiple myeloma, is a perfect fit for this new event -- a thrill seeking Texan!

The Texas-born stuntman Dean Smith, right, with John Wayne
making “The Alamo” in 1959.

Dean Smith is a colorful Texan and Olympic gold medal winner who spent a half century as a Hollywood stuntman and actor, appearing in ten John Wayne movies and doubling for a long list of actors as diverse as Michael Landon, Steve Martin,  Robert Redford, and Roy Rogers.  Dean Smith has taken falls from galloping horses, engaged in fistfights with Kirk Douglas and George C. Scott, and replicated one of the most famous scenes in movie history by climbing on a thundering team of horses to stop a runaway stagecoach.

Growing up he was a wishful and determined small-town boy.  He ran track for the University of Texas, set college records, won an Olympic gold medal at the 1952 Helsinki Games, and played professional football. He then spent the next 50 years as a motion picture and television stuntman. His long list of honors includes membership in the Stuntman’s Hall of Fame, the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

Dean Smith currently lives on a ranch in Ivan, Texas, with his wife, Debby, and son, Finis. He is battling Multiple Myeloma.

Dean's wife tell his story in her own words:

"In January of 2005, Dean was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. He lived in Graham at the time but was hospitalized in Fort Worth. After the initial diagnosis and treatment, Dean was sent home from the hospital with a PIC line in his upper arm where he was administered medicine.  He had home health nurses coming in regularly to check on him. Dean couldn’t walk and was in a wheelchair at first.  As time went on, he slowly progressed and went from the wheelchair, to the walker, to a cane, then back on his own two feet walking.  Soon he was back to riding his horse. For the next 6 years, we obsessed with his cancer numbers and we checked them every month.  They tend to go up and then back down again. Today he doesn’t seem his age although I have noticed him slowing down a bit.  We are very blessed to have good doctors and for Dean taking care of himself as a young man.  When Dean was first diagnosed the Doctors gave him 2 years to live.  Now, 11 years later he is still enjoying life.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is going OVER THE EDGE of the Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel to raise awareness and money to help create a world without blood cancers. 2017 will be the first time LLS is offering this event to a limited number of participants.

Take the challenge and rappel down the side of one of the tallest buildings in Fort Worth to help LLS raise $250,000 for the mission.

Get all of the details on our website here.

Questions?

Contact Brian Brooks

(817)288-2635

Brian.Brooks@lls.org

NTX Blood Cancer Conference: 5 Things to Know about the Keynote Speaker

KEYNOTE SPEAKER ANNOUNCED:
Kenneth C. Anderson, M.D.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

The North Texas Chapter is honored to have Kenneth C. Anderson, M.D. of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as the keynote speaker for the 2016 North Texas Blood Cancer Conference.  Dr. Anderson is a pioneer in multiple myeloma research and very involved with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and its vision of creating a world without blood cancers.  

Below are 5 things you may not know about Dr. Anderson:

1. Dr. Anderson is part of the LLS Screen to Lead Program
2. He is personal friends with Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and they are partners in cancer research
3. Dr. Anderson's mother was a nurse and that inspired him to get into medicine
4. When Dr. Anderson started to focus on the treatment of multiple myeloma the disease had very few treatment options
5. Dr. Anderson was the first person in his family to earn a college degree

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Dr. Anderson speak by registering today for the FREE North Texas Blood Cancer Conference.

MWOY: Kimberly Alexander Reflects at the Campaign's Midpoint

2016 North Texas Man & Woman of the Year (MWOY) Chair Kimberly Alexander has been a driving force in the recruitment of the 2016 MWOY candidates and the success of this campaign.  Today marks the midpoint of the campaign and Kimberly stopped to reflect on what brought her to this event and what she expects to see in the final five weeks.

Tell us your connection to the North Texas Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).  

I lost my husband Elijah to multiple myeloma in 2010.  I began to attend and support local LLS events a few years later and then was asked to join the North Texas Board of Trustees.  It was a natural progression and made sense because I was committed to remaining active in the cancer community through various activities in memory of him.

Why did you decide to chair the North Texas Man & Woman of the Year campaign this year? 
I'd always said I wanted a more involved role in at least one LLS fundraising event, but I wanted it to be the right event.  When it was announced that the North Texas Chapter was adding the MWOY campaign, the significance of it meant a lot to me.  With it being the LLS's highest honor (being named the National Man or Woman of the Year), I wanted to be a part of making it successful and seeing it grow.  I enjoyed being on the host committee for the inaugural event last year and I'm excited to be chairing this year.

Tell us about your personal connection to one of the candidates this year.  
I have personal connections to several of the candidates, but the one closest to me is my brother-in-law, Shannon Ridley.  He's my late husband's younger brother and I've known him since he was 16 years old.  Elijah loved him so much and I'm so excited that he's gotten involved with this cause as a way to honor Elijah too.  I have to stay neutral though.  I'm super excited about all of the candidates because every dollar they raise will support blood cancer research and ultimately I'd love it if it lead to a cure for multiple myeloma.

What impresses you most about the current group of MWOY candidates?  
What impresses me the most is the diversity of the group.  I think it says a lot about blood cancer actually, it's an equal opportunity offender and the candidates reflect people who have touched by it enough to commit to making a difference.


What advice would you give candidates during the final five weeks of this campaign?  
Keep spreading the word!  Continue drumming up support because every dollar raised is not only a vote, but an additional dollar towards research, all the way up to the grand finale on June 18th!  While the title is the ultimate goal, their involvement alone is helping cancer patients and families, and that within itself makes them a winner.

The North Texas Man & Woman of the Year campaign wraps up on Saturday, June 18th with a black tie Grand Finale Gala.  Support the local candidates by purchasing a ticket to the upcoming gala here.s 

LLS/Baylor Patient Advocate: Myeloma Support Group

March is Myeloma Awareness Month and the perfect time to highlight a free support group that is open to everybody at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. 

Every second Saturday, the North Texas Myeloma Support Group meets at Baylor on the 10th floor of the Sammons Cancer Center from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. This group is a wonderful group of men and women that are patients and caregivers; some of whom are 10+ year survivors, some are newly diagnosed, and everywhere in between. The group has speakers who discuss new drug therapies, nutrition, caregiver support, and many other topics specific to their disease.

At a recent meeting, we had a few newcomers to the group, some of whom had recently been diagnosed with multiple myeloma. There is so much information out there to sift through – which doctors specialize in treating myeloma, what treatment to do, what the numbers mean, and how to cope. These patients and caregivers who came to the meeting with a "deer in the headlights" look left  that afternoon with answers to their questions, acknowledgement of their fears, steps to move forward, and a sense of community. We were able to sign them up for the LLS First Connection program and get them plugged in with other resources to help them navigate through their diagnosis.

If you or a loved one have been touched by myeloma, I strongly encourage you to come to one of these groups. 

Blessings,

Kelsey __________________________________________________________________________________

Kelsey Thompson is a Patient Advocate for the North Texas Chapter of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  She understands the patient experience as a blood and marrow transplant registered nurse.  She is based at Baylor University Medical Center in the Cvetko Center.  She meets with patients and their families after receiving a blood cancer diagnosis.  

Contact Kelsey:
(214) 818-7890 

Kelsey.Thompson@lls.org

Light The Night Walk: T-Shirt Design Finalist

Hundreds of thousands of people attend the Light The Night Walks in nearly 200 communities across the United States.  While each of the Walk sites are unique in their own special way, some aspects of the campaign are the same from New York to Southern California.  One of those is the t-shirt that is given to all Champions For Cures.

This year The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) challenged its participants and supporters to create a t-shirt for participants at every Light The Night to wear this Fall.  The goal was to create a piece that is a representation of the spirit of Light The Night, the mission of LLS, and the drive to find a cure for blood cancers.

The graphic above was created by Alicia Parham, a tenth grader at Centennial High School in Frisco, TX.  Alicia is one of two finalists, chosen from dozens of entries nationwide.  The selection committee applauds her use of the lantern colors, the motivation of the various Walk participants, and the use of the LLS blood drop.

Alicia is familiar with LLS and the work it does.  Her grandfather was diagnosed with multiple myeloma before he passed away.

Would you like to see Alicia's design on your Light The Night shirt this year?  Then take action and VOTE online now.  Voting closes at 11:59 ET on May 1st so get your vote in now.

SAVE THE DATE:
Fort Worth: Sunday, October 26th at West 7th Development
North Cities: Saturday, November 1st at Simpson Plaza Frisco Square
Dallas: Sunday, November 2nd at Main Street Garden Park
Register today

Mission Monday: Texas Researcher Wins Major LLS Grant

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) today announced it has awarded four new grants through its prestigious Marshall A. Lichtman Specialized Center of Research (SCOR) research initiative, bringing the program's total funding to $285 million since its inception in 2000.

Helen E. Heslop, MD, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX is one of four recipients of this grant. Heslop and her team of 11 colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, will expand upon previous success in mobilizing the immune system to control blood cancers by attempting to define safer, simpler, and more effective immunotherapies for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and multiple myeloma (MM). They will investigate if naturally occurring "off the shelf" cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), also known as killer T cells, can be as effective under some circumstances as engineered T cells against lymphoma. In addition, they will devise ways to augment the effectiveness of CTLs in MM and optimize strategies to isolate and expand CTLs against ALL. This research is significant because immunotherapies may produce better responses in patients compared with existing therapies. Beyond that, there is a need to reduce the complexity and cost in order to make such therapy accessible to more patients. 

The innovative SCOR program funds teams of researchers representing different disciplines and engaged in collaborative efforts to discover new approaches to treat patients with blood cancers. Each team will each receive $1.25 million a year for five years, for a total of $6.25 million. 

Thankful Thursday: Gwen's Mission Moment

Gwen Runyan was 48 years old when she was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2006.  While still reeling with the shock of diagnosis, she was stunned when doctors told her the life expectancy for this type of blood cancer was only five years.  She promptly got her affairs in order and started treatment.  When she went into remission in 2007, she pledged to be more active and started running marathons with Team In Training (TNT).  Below is the mission moment she shared with a TNT team during a recent Saturday morning training:

"I was going to make this mission moment about me because it is my 6th birthday and  I was only suppose to live five years.  Because of this past weekend I realized that I had almost forgotten how terrifying cancer is. You see it's always in the back of our minds and sometimes little things trigger the memories. As a cancer patient, every time you get sick, every time something hurts, we always think the cancer is back.  That is why I want to tell you how important what you are doing is. Not just the fundraising, but the friends we make and knowing someone cares.  As cancer patients go through chemo it very hard to make decisions about our health and the worries about money.  Ask yourself when you are healthy how would I make it if I had to be off work and still pay bills?  How would I handle driving myself to a clinic three hours away if no one was there to help?  How would I manage a $130,000 hospital bill even if I had insurance because its not all covered. Do you sacrifice buying food or not pay the mortgage? These are actual things that caner patients go through on top of trying to get better. This is where you are so very important the money you raise, the time you give or the random phone call you make to ask how someone is doing means so much. When you raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society you are giving a cancer patient a chance to get through the hard parts without worrying about some of the everyday things. When you raise money its not just for a cancer patient it’s also for the family that doesn’t know how they will make it through another day, and it’s for all of you because you don’t know who the next person will be.  If we don’t do it then the help and the money will not be there. So the next time you are fundraising and you think well I don’t like to bother people think how that person you didn’t want to bother would feel if next week it was them and no one cared.  I have not ever had one person tell me not to email them or not to call them.  I have not had one person say that’s not what I want to give money to. It is my experience if they don’t want to they will just not respond for some reason, maybe things are tight right then. In a couple weeks send a reminder. You will be surprised the next time you fundraise they will be the first one to donate. For example, my 80-year-old aunt donated $25 and I haven’t seen her in 30 years. Maybe she knows someone with cancer or maybe she just had a few extra dollars, either way if you keep your site out there on the social networks you will get to your goal. So I just want to thank each and every one of you for what you do. It’s a big responsibility that we all take very seriously. Keep moving my friends!"

Get involved with Team In Training today.  

Register for the Spring Season at www.teamintrainting.org/ntx