The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Of Canada - Prairies/Territories Region

A reminder that our Calgary office closes today at noon, and we are open again on Thursday, January 3. The staff and volunteers at the LLSC Prairies office wish you a bright, happy holiday season! To get you in the spirit, here are some of our staff in their most festive gear- enjoy! We can't wait to see you all in the new year.

Give now and your gift will be matched!
Your donation = 2 times the impact
Without question, this is the easiest decision you’ll make this holiday. ... Donate today - https://goo.gl/5nk7vP
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Join the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada on January 17th for the first of six Winnipeg Patient Information Sessions. The sessions will provide information on blood cancers and relevant topics as well as connect you with others who have a shared experience. Attend the January session to hear hematologist Dr. Ponnampalam present on “Transfusion of Blood Products During Chemotherapy.”
FREE EVENT
Register: https://www.llsform.org/7101FS01/xvuf2nfk a0/index.html…
... Learn More: http://www.llscanada.org/…/transfusion- of-blood-products-du…
Who Should Attend? Patients, survivors, caregivers, family members and anyone with a general interest in the subject matter.
If you have any questions about the event or LLSC programs and services, please do not hesitate to contact our Winnipeg Area Manager: Nicolle Amyotte
nicole.amyotte@lls.org
204-960-9006
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The LLSC Prairies office will be closed at noon this Friday, December 21, and will re-open on Thursday, January 3. We're excited to recharge and get back to it in the new year!

Oakville entrepreneur, Shen Goh, is pledging to match donations in honour of his daughter, Lia, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when she was a young child. Today, Shen is thankful to mark Lia’s tenth year in remission. Donate Today and have your gift matched! https://goo.gl/DmhdbR

The best time to give is now!
Giving is great. Knowing it can go twice as far is even better.
Right now, when you give to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, your gift will be doubled, thanks to an amazing group of generous donors! Donate Today: https://goo.gl/XjXHsN

We were honoured to be a part of this initiative with Believe in the Gold!

It's #ResearcherFriday and today we will be featuring Dr. Kirk Schultz.
Dr. Kirk Schultz is one of the LLSC’s funded researchers for 2018, and has been doing very exciting research aimed at curing pediatric leukemia. Currently, stem cell transplants achieved from a donor (allogeneic stem cell transplants) are the only form of immunotherapy for childhood leukemia – but these procedures come with the risk of the patient developing Chronic Graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD).
cG...VHD occurs when the donor’s immune system attacks the patient’s healthy organs, and it can be a life-threatening affliction. Dr. Shultz and his team are hoping to be able to personalize treatment, so they can know when to intervene to prevent cGVHD from occurring and improve immune therapy treatment. This research is critical in increasing survival rates and reducing complications that arise from stem cell transplants.
Full list of 2018 LLSC funded researchers: http://www.llscanada.org/2018-funded-rese archers
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Great news! A group of Canadian donors have pledged to match your donations up to $50,000! Starting today, when you make a donation to add a light of hope for kids with a blood cancer, the value of your gift will double. https://goo.gl/o94pDU

Did you know the LLSC Prairies region is partnered with several Sylvan Learning Centre locations to provide scholarships to children and youth who are battling blood cancer? And now, there are officially scholarships in Winnipeg!
This year, Sylvan Learning of West Winnipeg and Sylvan Learning of North Winnipeg joined the effort to help kids get back on track at school! Learn more at http://www.llscanada.org/…/sylvan-learn ing-scholarship-prog…

Where there is light, there is hope!
Learn more: https://goo.gl/XDUKXK

This is what hope looks like for child with cancer!
Learn more: https://goo.gl/Lzwihw

Every #ResearchFriday we will be highlighting one of our 2018 funded researchers and their cutting edge work. This Friday we want to share some very exciting news from our researchers in Edmonton. One of our long-time Team In Training participants, Dean Kroetsch and his wife Cindy Kroetsch recently toured Dr. Brandwein and Dr. Berthiaume's lab along with LLSC staff, Michael Baker. During this tour, Dr. Brandwein and Dr. Berthiaume were able to share details about the research... they have been working on as well as new, exciting discoveries that could have a massive impact on AML treatment as well as the treatment of other cancers.
The study: Evaluation of N-myristoyltransferase (NMT2) in acute myeloid leukemia.
NMT2 is a protein that plays an important role in cells. They have found that expression of NMT2 is very low in most leukemia cells from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
One main purpose of this study is to test NMT2 levels in leukemia cells, as a way of predicting the outcome in AML patients who receive chemotherapy. That may help to find out which patients are less likely to be cured with chemotherapy. They also have a new agent, PCLX-001, that is able to kill cells that have low levels of NMT2. In this study they are testing the effectiveness of PCLX-001 in killing leukemia cells in the lab and in mice with AML. This may lead to a new treatment for AML.
The hypothesis is that in 80% of AML patients there is little to no NMT2 protein in their cells. A healthy cell has both NMT1 and NMT2 proteins. The PCLX-001 drug attacks only cells that do not have the NMT2.
So far, in all of the samples of cells missing NMT2 the research team are seeing 100% eradication of the AML cancer.
What makes these results so incredible is that in a test of all other proteins in our cells, the agent PCLX-001 did not impact them, so it could be an extremely targeted oral therapy.
Dr. Berthiaume did say he doesn’t like to toss the ‘C’ word around but, in both of the Dr’s careers, they have never seen something with such strong results and potential. They still need to make it through Phase 1 clinical trials and have a ways to go before this will be available to patients but we will keep you updated as we stay tuned to see how these amazing findings develop.
Huge thank you to Dr. Brandwein, Dr. Berthiaume and the research team for facilitating a tour of their lab.
List of our 2018 funded researchers: http://www.llscanada.org/2018-funded-rese archers
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Canadians are lighting the map of hope this holiday season!
Learn More: https://goo.gl/sPtjau

UFCW Canada ’s hard work and perseverance for over 138,000 Canadians affected by blood cancers is truly inspiring and we thank them for making such a tremendous impact in the blood cancer community. #ThankYou #UFCWDay

Kids with cancer, like leukemia or lymphoma, bravely face a battery of tests, injections, surgery and slowly forget they are children. Day by day, they become cancer patients. Starting today, you can add a light of hope by making a donation in honour of kids with cancer. https://goo.gl/tqJPxF #AddYourLight #LightOfHope #LLSC

Today is the final day to order Poinsettias in Edmonton! Don't miss out:
llsedmonton.growingsmilesfundraising.com< br>

Learn to build a paper crane while raising funds for the LLSC! If you are in the Morinville area and want a chance to learn a new skill while giving back, the Morinville Community Library is hosting "1,000 Paper Cranes and $1,000 for Blood Cancer" until December 31st.
More info here: http://bit.ly/thousandPaperCranes

This is a very special way to remember loved ones. Thank you Jason for all the funds you raised. Pops is looking down with love right now.

I first learnt of this walk in 2016. With the help of MB Manager Courtney Maddock, I signed up a team. The energy at the event was amazing, the comardery of all was akin to a bright burning flame.We were all together working towards the same goal.The twinkling lanterns seemed to go on forever. I'll continue this journey every year until Cancer is just a word...when it can no longer steal our loved ones from us nor steal us from our loved ones. We did Light The Night!

This is a very special way to remember loved ones. Thank you Jason for all the funds you raised. Pops is looking down with love right now.

I first learnt of this walk in 2016. With the help of MB Manager Courtney Maddock, I signed up a team. The energy at the event was amazing, the comardery of all was akin to a bright burning flame.We were all together working towards the same goal.The twinkling lanterns seemed to go on forever. I'll continue this journey every year until Cancer is just a word...when it can no longer steal our loved ones from us nor steal us from our loved ones. We did Light The Night!

This is a very special way to remember loved ones. Thank you Jason for all the funds you raised. Pops is looking down with love right now.

I first learnt of this walk in 2016. With the help of MB Manager Courtney Maddock, I signed up a team. The energy at the event was amazing, the comardery of all was akin to a bright burning flame.We were all together working towards the same goal.The twinkling lanterns seemed to go on forever. I'll continue this journey every year until Cancer is just a word...when it can no longer steal our loved ones from us nor steal us from our loved ones. We did Light The Night!