Tag Archives: Lymphoma

Show the world what a Q-tip can do

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By DHEC Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and Be The Match

What impact or difference could a Q-tip have on the world? Answer- FIGHT CANCER!

Every three minutes someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer. By the time the blog post is complete, eight people will have been diagnosed by a doctor they never planned to see with a disease they never thought would impact their life. Each day 480 people are diagnosed with various blood cancers/blood disorders including leukemia, lymphoma, aplastic anemia and sickle cell anemia.

1,500 South Carolinians each year are part of these sobering statistics. Half of these 1,500 patients will need a bone marrow transplant. This transplant is their last and (and in many cases) only hope for survival. Be The Match supports these patients in their search for a marrow donor through the national marrow registry.

You have the chance to partner with the Q-tip to fight cancer. Joining the Be The Match registry is as easy as filling out a form and swabbing your cheek with a  . . . wait for it . . . Q-TIP.

You will join a list of over 12 million people who are willing to help if they are called (which is only about a 1 in 70,000 chance). You are probably asking – “does this hurt?” The most common bone marrow donation is very similar to giving blood. The extent of the pain is a needle stick. There is a less common method where we take marrow from the hip, but you are asleep and not aware of what is going on.

No matter the method, you have the chance to save a life – to give a patient and their family a second chance! Interested in showing the world what a Q-tip can do?  You can join the Be The Match by visiting http://join.bethematch.org/sc

Dr. Suess said it best (as usual) – “To the World you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.”

For more information on Be The Match in South Carolina, contact:

Ashley Collier
Be The Match South Carolina
803-543-9034
acollier@nmdp.org

Be The Match Save a Life

Leukemia & Lymphoma Awareness Month

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By Stephanie Hinton, CPM, MHS, MA – DHEC Cancer Prevention and Control Division Director

Every 3 minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer. In South Carolina alone, more than 700 people were diagnosed with some form of leukemia and nearly 1,000 were diagnosed with lymphoma in 2012 according to the SC Central Cancer Registry.

September is leukemia and lymphoma awareness month – get to know these cancers and how you can join the fight against them.

Leukemia & Lymphoma by the Numbers
This year, approximately 54,270 Americans will be diagnosed with leukemia and 80,900 with Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Who gets it?
Leukemia is the most common childhood cancer, but both blood cancers occur most often in older adults between the ages of 75-84. Leukemia and lymphoma are slightly more common in men.

What are the symptoms and risk factors?
Common symptoms of leukemia and lymphoma include: fever and chills, persistent fatigue, weight loss without trying, swollen lymph nodes, easy bruising or bleeding, frequent nosebleeds, and bone pain or tenderness.

Risk factors include age, previous cancer treatment, genetic disorders, exposure to certain chemicals, smoking, and family history of the cancer.  These symptoms and risk factors do not always equate to cancer but should be discussed with your physician if you have concerns.  Find more symptoms and risk factors for leukemia here and lymphoma here.

Can I prevent it?
Although there is no definitive way to prevent leukemia or lymphoma, you can certainly lower your risk.  Healthy decisions like maintaining a healthy weight, eating right, not smoking, and exercising routinely will lower your risk of these blood cancers.  Visit the American Cancer Society’s Stay Healthy website for more tips and resources on staying healthy.

How can I help?
Join and support Be The Match Registry!  Be The Match is a global leader in bone marrow transplantation that helps patients find their life-saving marrow donors and provides support throughout the transplant process.  Learn more and join Be The Match here.