Parents and Students,
This week and the following two weeks Steller will be participating in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Pennies for Patients program. LLS is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research and providing education and patient services. Coins will be collected until January 20th for this worthy cause. Collection boxes will be in each AG room and the contents will be counted on a weekly basis. The AG with the most money collected at the end of three weeks will earn a pizza party. However, we must collect a minimum of $250 to qualify for the party. Donations of $1,000 or more will earn the school a gift card of $100.
Right after Christmas is not the ideal time for fund raising, however, any spare change will be sincerely appreciated. Of course, folding money can be donated as well. If a parent or student wants to pick up a collection box for their place of employment, that would be great! Steller students and parents have a wonderful reputation of contributing to worthy cases such as this one. Despite the untimely scheduling, I am sure we will do what we can to help those with Leukemia and Lymphoma.  Thank you for your support. Below is information about the two diseases LLS supports. For additional information see http://www.lls.org/ or school and youth.org
Sincerely, Nurse Anne
P.S. I am willing to sign off on volunteer hours for students who want to solicit donations from family and friends.
What Is Leukemia?
Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. The disease develops when blood cells produced in the bone marrow grow out of control.
Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases. In turn, it is part of the even roader group of diseases affecting the blood, bone marrow and lymphoid system, which are all known as hematological neoplasms.
In 2000, approximately 256,000 children and adults around the world developed some form of leukemia, and 209,000 died from it. About 90% of all leukemias are diagnosed in adults.
| About 43,050 people are expected to develop leukemia in 2012. |
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What is Lymphoma? Lymphoma affects the lymphatic system, the network of vessels and nodes that carry infection- fighting white blood cells, called lymphocytes, throughout the body. It ranks as the most common blood cancer and third most common childhood cancer.
Lymphomas are generally classified as Hodgkin’s lymphomas (formerly known as Hodgkin’s disease) or non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas. In both types of cancer, the lymphatic cells begin to grow abnormally, producing lymph nodes that are larger than normal.
Hodgkin’s lymphoma follows a more predictable pattern than non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and often has a more limited spread. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are more likely to involve many different areas of the body.
Some lymphomas are highly curable (e.g. Hodgkin’s lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma) with standard chemotherapy and antibody treatments, which can be given without a hospital stay and are only minimally toxic. Other types of lymphomas can be managed effectively for many years with mild treatments but tend to recur repeatedly with traditional therapies. |
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