September 2010 Archives

Every year we at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) observe September as Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma Awareness Month. It's our hope that during this month, more of the public affected by these diseases are able to discover the many patient, caregiver, and healthcare professional resources that we offer, from our expert-based telephone education programs to volunteer-run local support groups.
 
Of course, September is only one of twelve months each year when hundreds of thousands of patients and families are negatively affected by the realities of blood cancer. Stories flood into our offices on a daily basis about another child diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), another beloved father and husband has died from complications with myeloma, and thankfully, how another has beaten the odds and is now in remission from Hodgkin lymphoma. These stories propel us forward to do what we can to further life-saving research, provide educational and supportive resources for patients, and encourage survivors and friends of LLS to give back through our events like Team In Training and Light The Night Walk.
 
Since the beginning of LLS more than 60 years ago, we have strived to be on the cutting edge and have asked the public to support us in the battle against cancer through generous donations and local and national advocacy. With their support, the researchers we fund have worked to increase survival rates for many blood cancers and improve the quality of life for patients. This month is not only a way to increase awareness, but also to say "thank you" to the many who have fought with us to end cancer.
 
If you are interested in learning more about leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, or more about how you can get involved with LLS in your community, please visit www.lls.org and enter your local zip code to find your nearest LLS chapter.

Disclaimer: In 2010, GSK provided general funding to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The LLS has given us permission to use their logo.

I can check "Meet the President of the United States" off of my bucket list.  Yesterday, I was honored to represent GlaxoSmithKline at the White House, where President Obama announced the launch of Change the Equation (CTEq), a CEO-led initiative to cultivate widespread literacy in science, technology, engineering and math.  I was joined by executives from more than 100 leading companies in these fields.

We can all agree that the results from a recent survey commissioned by CTEq are appalling.  Nearly three in ten adults believe they are not good at math. The problem is especially acute in younger Americans. More than half of Americans aged 18 to 36 admit that they often find themselves saying they can't do math.  Perhaps most shocking, 30 percent of Americans would prefer cleaning the bathroom to doing a math problem!

GSK has a long history in supporting improvements in education.  Since 1986, we've been the sole funder of Science in the Summer, a free, science education program that features hands-on activities and experiments designed to teach elementary school children basic scientific concepts, demonstrate how science is directly related to their everyday lives and get them excited about studying science.  In 2009, approximately 6,800 students experienced the excitement of science through GSK's Science in the Summer.

By joining CTEq, GSK is expanding its commitments to improving science education by pledging to cultivate widespread literacy in science, technology, engineering, and math as an investment in our nation that empowers us all.  It's also an investment in the future of our own industry.  Science, math, and technology are the backbone of pharmaceuticals.  Our success depends on a vibrant and productive research and development function that encourages creativity and facilitates the accelerated discovery and development of new medicines.

Americans witnessed something unique on Friday night.  If you tuned in to one of the major broadcast or cable outlets on September 10, you may have seen the Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon.   For one hour, you could see major celebrities and donors (We tip our caps to Major League Baseball commissioner, Bud Selig, for his huge donation toward cancer research!) all speaking up to focus our energies on beating cancer.

But hopefully you saw more than just Hollywood at one of its finest, charitable moments.  Stand Up 2 Cancer has only been around for two years, yet they have awarded more than $100 million for cancer research--all from public donations.  Yes, that's $100 million...  In two years...  Such an incredible achievement.  And people heard from researchers who receive these monies about how the Stand Up funding model is helping them move with greater speed to develop new treatments. 

As a founding sponsor, and as a company with a growing cancer medicine portfolio, we wanted our own community to know that we are in this fight.  If you were on one of our campuses or met one of our sales professionals, you would have seen GSKers wearing Stand Up 2 Cancer t-shirts in recognition of the telecast.  I used to work in the non-profit field, and mass media with a grassroots movement is what it takes to get a message heard.  Hopefully our grassroots effort got people talking about this issue and this cause.

Will you join us?  If you'd like to take your own stand against cancer, call them at 1-888-90-STAND or visit their Website where they're still collecting donations.

At Stand Up to Cancer, we're in final preparations for our second one-hour television event. Airing live at 8/7C, on Friday September 10, SU2C will be broadcast on every major network. We're building on the success of our first show in 2008, but it's more than a media event. We'll be sharing the progress we've made and all that's within our grasp in the cause of ending cancer. That means reporting on the work of our scientific Dream Teams and Innovative Research Grant recipients. It means combining the star power of Hollywood with the brain power of research community, the generosity of organizations like GSK, and the outpouring of heroic public support we continue to receive.

As the show's producer and a person living with cancer myself, I'm working to make sure that Stand Up to Cancer's concentration on innovation, acceleration, translational research, targeted therapies, and collaboration will offer an empowering vision of all that's possible when we work together, toward a common goal. That work continues on Friday September 10 at 8pm. None of it would be possible without the collaborative support of citizens and companies like GSK--all those helping lead the charge toward a time when everyone diagnosed with cancer will become a survivor. I wanted to take this moment to thank GSK, and to encourage everyone reading to tune in next week. While you're watching, please join together with GSK and join SU2C: give what you can at www.standup2cancer.org, and help save lives.

Public health leaders have noted that if you have seen one flu season, you have seen one flu season. Every year is different, and this year is no exception.

For one thing, the strains are different this year. Each year the flu vaccine contains three strains and this year H1N1, the same H1N1 that triggered the 2009 pandemic, is one of those strains.

Secondly, the recommendations have changed to help protect more people. Health experts at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) now recommend that everyone who is six months and older get vaccinated against the flu each year.

Thirdly, the timing and severity of the flu season vary from year to year. October and November are prime vaccination months, but immunizations should be given all flu season long because no one knows exactly when the season may end or peak. Over a period of 30 years, between 1976 and 2006, estimates of annual flu-associated deaths range from a low of about 3,000 to a high of about 49,000 people.

To put those numbers into perspective, 3,000 people would nearly fill the Kodak Theater in LA, home of the Oscars. And 49,000 people would sell out Oriole Park at Camden Yards, in Baltimore. That is why we need to refuse the flu -- it's hard to imagine an empty Oscar's auditorium or Oriole Park.

Visit www.RefuseTheFLu.com to learn more about how to protect yourself and those around you.